the development and continued evolution by rebecka

THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUED EVOLUTION

OF THE AMERICAN STYLE OF OBOE PLAYING

By

Rebecka Elizabeth Rose

Liberty University

A MASTER’S THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS IN MUSIC EDUCATION

Liberty University

August, 2017

ii

THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUED EVOLUTION

OF THE AMERICAN STYLE OF OBOE PLAYING

by Rebecka Elizabeth Rose

A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts in Music Education

Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

August, 2017

APPROVED BY:

Monica Taylor, Ph.D. Committee Chair

Katherine Morehouse, Ph.D. Committee Member

Vernon M. Whaley, Ph.D. Dean of the School of Music

iii

Copyright ©2017

Rebecka Elizabeth Rose

All Rights Reserved

iv

ABSTRACT

Though the American school of oboe playing did not exist roughly a century ago, its popularity

and impact, in all of its variations, currently extends throughout and beyond the United States.

Marcel Tabuteau, the founding father of the American school, developed a new and unique style

during the early part of the twentieth century. This style became a truly hybrid school grounded

in the French oboe school, and developed through his playing and teaching at the Curtis Institute

of Music into a style that encompasses beauty, expression, and the vibrancy that has come to

typify the American school oboist. The scope of this study included exploring available archival

resources and interviewing seven current professional American oboists to trace the heritage and

development of the American oboe school. The body of quotes from Tabuteau, his students, and

their students in conjunction with quotes from interviews with current, American professional

oboists allow for an informative perspective into the world of the American oboist. Themes and

commonalities can be followed from their inception to their current presentation within the

American school providing insight into how the American school of oboe playing continues to

evolve.

Keywords: American school of oboe playing, American style of oboe playing, American

scrape oboe reeds, Marcel Tabuteau, John de Lancie, John Mack, Joseph Robinson, Henry Ward,

Mary Lynch, Barbara LaFitte, Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg, John Ferrillo, Margaret Marco,

Mark DuBois

v

Table of Contents

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix

Chapter One: Introduction ..........................................................................................................1

Statement of the Problem .....................................................................................................1

Statement of the Purpose .....................................................................................................2

Significance of the Study .....................................................................................................2

Primary Research Question and Sub-Questions ..................................................................3

Assumptions .........................................................................................................................3

Study Limitations .................................................................................................................3

Definition of Terms..............................................................................................................4

Chapter Two: Literature Review ................................................................................................5

Overview of the American School of Oboe Playing ...........................................................5

The Italian School of Oboe Playing .....................................................................................7

The German School of Oboe Playing ..................................................................................8

The French School of Oboe Playing ..................................................................................10

The British School of Oboe Playing ..................................................................................11

Oboists of the American School ........................................................................................12

Marcel Tabuteau ....................................................................................................12

John de Lancie .......................................................................................................14

John Mack ..............................................................................................................15

Joseph Robinson ....................................................................................................16

Twentieth Century Oboe Repertoire ..................................................................................17

Oboe Instrument Making ...................................................................................................19

Oboe Reed Styles ...............................................................................................................19

Chapter Three: Methodological Design ....................................................................................23

vi

Chapter Four: Part One: Archival Research ..........................................................................26

The Tabuteau Tradition......................................................................................................26

The American School Begins ............................................................................................27

The Tabuteau /Philadelphia Sound ....................................................................................28

Quotes by Marcel Tabuteau about his Playing/American School Characteristics 28

Quotes by Marcel Tabuteau’s about His Teaching Method ..................................29

Descriptions of Tabuteau’s Playing from his Students ......................................................31

Joseph Robinson ....................................................................................................31

Laila Storch ............................................................................................................31

Richard Woodhams ................................................................................................32

The Legacy Begins—Accounts of Tabuteau’s Teaching ..................................................33

Line ....................................................................................................................34

Breathing ...............................................................................................................35

Singing Intervals ....................................................................................................36

Phrasing/Number System.......................................................................................37

Tone ....................................................................................................................38

Oboe Playing Akin to Vocal Singing/Tone ...........................................................39

Motion ...................................................................................................................40

Tabuteau’s Impact Beyond Oboe Playing .........................................................................41

Additional Influences Upon the Development of the American School of Oboe Playing42

Lorée’s Oboes ........................................................................................................42

Leopold Stokowski’s and Arturo Toscanini’s Influence Upon the

American School of Oboe Playing ............................................................42

The Oboe Reed’s Impact Upon the Oboist’s Sound ..............................................44

The Contemporary American School of Oboe Playing & Other Influences .....................45

vii

Chapter Four: Part Two: Interview Research ........................................................................47

American Oboists’ Personal Style .....................................................................................47

Philadelphia............................................................................................................47

Descriptions of Sound ............................................................................................48

Style Development .............................................................................................................49

The Reed Scrape’s Role in Style Development .....................................................49

Teachers’ Role in Style Development ...................................................................50

Tabuteau Lineage of Interview Participants ..............................................51

American School of Oboe Playing Characteristics ............................................................55

Line ........................................................................................................................55

Phrasing......................................................................................................55

Dynamics ...................................................................................................56

Vocal Similarities...................................................................................................56

Flexibility ...............................................................................................................58

The American Scrape Reed ...............................................................................................58

New Trends within the American School of Oboe Playing ...............................................61

Tone .......................................................................................................................62

Dynamics ...............................................................................................................62

Expression ..............................................................................................................63

Skill/Technique ......................................................................................................63

The Virtuosic Principal Oboist ..............................................................................64

Removal by Time from Tabuteau ..........................................................................64

Chapter Five: Conclusions .........................................................................................................66

Summary of Study .............................................................................................................66

Summary of Purpose ..........................................................................................................66

Summary of Procedure ......................................................................................................67

Summary of Findings .........................................................................................................67

Tone Quality and Embouchure ..............................................................................68

Dynamics/Expression ...........................................................................................68

Vocal Similarities...................................................................................................68

viii

Line ........................................................................................................................69

Breathing ................................................................................................................69

Imitation versus Emulation ....................................................................................69

Oboe Brand, Conductors, and Reeds .....................................................................69

The Tabuteau Lineage............................................................................................70

Interview Questions Summations ..........................................................................70

Limitations .........................................................................................................................73

Recommendations for Future Study ..................................................................................73

Implications for Practice ....................................................................................................74

Bibliography .................................................................................................................................75

IRB Approval Letter....................................................................................................................78

ix

List of Figures

Figure 1. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Henry Ward: Principal Oboe, Buffalo Philharmonic

Orchestra ........................................................................................................................................52

Figure 2. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Mary Lynch: Principal Oboe, Seattle Symphony;

University of Washington ..............................................................................................................52

Figure 3. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Barbara LaFitte: Principal Oboe, Boston Ballet

Orchestra and Boston Classical Orchestra; Berklee College of Music..........................................53

Figure 4. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg: Principal Oboe, Des

Moines Symphony; Drake University ...........................................................................................53

Figure 5. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of John Ferrillo: Principal Oboe, Boston Symphony

Orchestra; New England Conservatory .........................................................................................54

Figure 6. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Margaret Marco: Principal Oboe, Kansas City

Chamber Orchestra; University of Kansas ....................................................................................54

Figure 7. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Mark DuBois: Fredonia State University ..................54

1

Chapter 1

Introduction

Prior to the early twentieth century, the predominant styles of oboe playing were

European. Most oboists during this time played with either a nasal and light French sound, or by

contrast, played with a much fuller and richer sound which is typical of the Italian and German

sounds. European musicians in general were in high demand in America because of their high

proficiency level in the playing of traditional western classical music. Classical music

opportunities in Europe far exceeded those available in America at the time, such as being able

to receive expert training at some of the best classical music conservatories in the world. When

European musicians came to America, they brought with them European classical music played

with expert level facility. This infusion of proficiency would not only raise the standards for

American musicians to come, but would gradually develop and take on new life in America.

Statement of the Problem

Oboists throughout the United States and the world, like all other instrumentalists, begin

a study of their instrument and learn the basics. When oboe students progress to the point of

learning how to play the oboe stylistically, they have arrived at an area of musical learning that is

quite different from objective areas of musical learning, such as what fingering to use or how to

count the rhythms encountered in music. The decisions in music that must be made regarding

embellishments, dynamics, articulations, etc., are much more subjective and will determine the

style and scope of their playing. Because of the general preference for the American sound

within American symphony orchestras, students and their teachers must understand why and

how to play stylistically within the sound that has come to be known as the American style of

oboe playing.

2

Statement of the Purpose

First, this study endeavored to cull direct quotes from specific founding oboists of the

American school of oboe playing and to organize quotes that pertain to specific well-known

characteristics of the American school of oboe playing to allow readers to trace for themselves

the development of the American school. Secondly, by presenting interviews with current

American oboe professionals regarding their knowledge, training, and experiences within the

American school, this study attempts to illuminate the state of the present American oboe school.

Much of what has been passed down from the early development of this school to today’s

American oboists becomes evident when comparing what appears in the interview research in

the words of today’s American oboists with the archival quotes from the founders of the

American oboe school. This comparison and analysis leads to a better understanding of the

current American style of oboe playing.

Significance of the Study

The fact that a new style of oboe playing came into existence is significant because the

American style has now traversed the globe in its popularity. It follows that American oboists

should have not only an awareness of all the styles of oboe playing, but also a thorough

comprehension and ability in the elements that comprise the American style. The past completed

projects and studies about this topic are thorough, detailed, and insightful. This project seeks to

add further insight by building upon these past studies and continuing to investigate the

development of the American school, and in addition contributing an understanding of its

continued growth and development. The comparison of quotes from early twentieth century

oboists with interview quotes from today’s professional oboists has the potential to continue to

increase current understanding, playing, and teaching of the oboe within the American school of

3

oboe playing. This study contributes to the current level of knowledge and understanding

regarding the process by which characteristics of the European styles of oboe playing merged,

took on new stylistic characteristics, and continues to develop and grow.

Primary Research Question and Sub-Questions

For the purpose of this study, the following questions will be addressed:

How did the current American style of oboe playing come to exist?

What defining contributors to and characteristics of the American school can

be identified?

How is the American School of oboe playing continuing to change and

develop currently?

Assumptions

Foundational to this research study is the assumption that the playing style and teaching

of Marcel Tabuteau is a defining influence in the development of the American style of oboe

playing. The assumption is also made that students of Tabuteau such as John Mack and John de

Lancie have also had significant influence upon the American style of oboe playing not only by

continuing in the Tabuteau tradition, but also by contributing their own unique style

characteristics and modifications.1

Study Limitations

Potentially, there are oboists who made contributions to the development of the American

oboe style, yet archival records do not exist that record their contributions or these records are

not available or are unknown to the researcher for the purposes of this study. This study only

1 Amy M. Galbraith, “The American School of Oboe Playing: Robert Bloom, John de Lancie, John Mack,

and the Influence of Marcel Tabuteau,” (PhD diss., West Virginia University, 2011), accessed May 5, 2016,

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, ii.

4

includes the materials and interviews that are available for analysis. This study is limited to

those who agree to participate in the study.

Definition of Terms

Triebert Oboe Tradition. Guillaume Triebert produced the first mechanized oboe, called the

system 3, in 1840. Triebert and his sons Charles-Louis and Frédéric, would continue to modify

the mechanized oboe and produce additionally the system 4 in 1843 and the system 5 in 1849 in

collaboration with A. M. R. Barret. Charles Triebert produced the reduced-bore Boehm oboe in

1855. Frédéric Triebert along with Georges Gillet developed and produced the system 6

(conservatory) oboe in 1875.2

6bis (plateau) oboe. Adolphe Lucien Lorée (Francois Lorée’s son) and Georges Gillet’s 1906

modification of the system 6 (conservatory) oboe.3

Conservatory Oboe. ‘Conservatory’ oboe was used in reference to the systems 4, 6, and 6bis

when each progressive model was in use at the Paris Conservatory.4

Circular Breathing. Technique used by wind players that enables a steady source of air for

continuous sound production without a normal inhalation.

2 Robert S. Howe, “Nineteenth Century French Oboe Making Revealed: A Translation and Analysis of the

Triebert et Cie ‘1855’ Nouveau Prix-Courant,” The Galpin Society Journal 64 (March 2011): 79, accessed

November 14, 2015, http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/stable/23209392?pq-

origsite=summon&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.

3 Ibid, 79-80.

4 Ibid.

5

Chapter 2

Literature Review

The playing of most oboists currently in America today and in some parts of the world

that have adopted elements of the American school of oboe playing is rooted in the new style of

oboe playing that began to develop in America during the early twentieth century. This new,

independent style that would come to be known as the American style is an outgrowth of the

European styles of oboe playing that were predominant up until the American style began to

emerge. It is significant that a style of oboe playing that was not even heard of until the early

twentieth century could rapidly overtake the previous styles in popularity. Lana Neal (1999) in

her article found in the quarterly journal of the International Double Reed Society, The Double

Reed, states that “the American oboe school has become an important influence not only in the

orchestras of this country, but in the emerging synthesis of styles of oboe playing around the

world in the last several decades.”5

Overview of the American School of Oboe Playing

The name Marcel Tabuteau is synonymous with the American oboe school. Most oboists

acknowledge this even if they do not know much about the background of the American school.

Neal (1999) remarks that “Tabuteau is commonly considered the father of the American school

of oboe playing.”6 Tabuteau immigrated to America from France; and though he played well

within the traditional French style, his playing gradually became known for innovation—

innovation of his own and also innovation brought by necessity.

Tabuteau played in the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski from 1915-

1954. Amy Galbraith (2011) in her dissertation about the American school of oboe playing

5 Lana C. Neal, “The American Oboe School: Its History and Hallmarks,” The Double Reed 22, no. 2

(Spring 1999): 51, accessed May 12, 2016, http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR22.2/JNL22.2.pdf.

6 Ibid.

6

mentions that “Leopold Stokowski’s relentless demands for a varied, wide range of tone color

and for individual wind instruments to blend as a section caused Tabuteau to modify the

characteristic oboe tone associated with the French school.”7 In order to meet Stokowski’s

requirements, Tabuteau was able to adapt his playing and his reed style to such an extent that the

result was not just a variation upon the original, but a new and unique style of playing and

making reeds. This adaptation was creative and ingenious. Neal’s (1999) article again credits

certain conductors such as Leopold Stokowski and Arturo Toscanini for contributing to the

development of the American style of oboe playing.8 Neal (1999) explains Arturo Toscannini’s

contributions by referencing an interview with Ray Still, principal oboist of the Chicago

Symphony from 1953-1993:

The principal oboist was extremely important to Toscanini. Toscanini, like most

conductors, felt that the principal oboist was responsible for the tone of the woodwind

section. In addition, he believed that the first oboist, along with the principal double bass

player, was responsible for the remainder of the orchestra. He felt so strong that the

oboist was a cornerstone of the orchestra because the first oboist is capable of

determining the color and texture of the entire ensemble.9

The timbre of the oboe sound is well known for its ability to shine or cut through an ensemble,

depending on the instrumentation, which requires the oboist along with the rest of the section to

carefully adhere to whatever direction the conductor wishes for the woodwind section.

Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes (2004), in their book, The Oboe, suggest that though

the American school has a strong presence, its characteristics are quite varied:

The differences separating the playing of John de Lancie (1921-2002; Philadelphia

Orchestra, 1946-77), Ray Still (1920-; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1953-92) and his

successor Alex Klein (1964-; Chicago SO 1992) – to mention just three of the best-

known figures of the American school past and present – seem to outweigh the

similarities.10

7 Galbraith, “The American School of Oboe Playing,” 1.

8 Neal, “The American School,” 52-53.

9 Ibid, 53.

10 Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes, The Oboe (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004), 205.

7

Because of this variance, the existence of the American school as a united body can seem strange

and even impossible based upon the different characteristics of all these different oboists.

Galbraith (2011) focuses her dissertation on the influence that Marcel Tabuteau and that

of his students who carried on in the Tabuteau tradition has had upon the development of the

American oboe style. Galbraith’s (2011) dissertation does not cover all of the contributing

influences that led to the development of the American style of oboe playing though. She

examines primarily the Tabuteau tradition. Though Neal (1999) offers a more comprehensive

study of contributing factors, she does not trace and connect directly style characteristics as they

developed and were passed down within the American school. Neither Galbraith (2011) nor

Neal (1999) include within the scope of their writings, how the American school of oboe playing

is continuing to develop currently in America. The American school of oboe playing has not

reached a ceiling where development halts. Instead, the American school continues to develop

and evolve. It influences the other schools of oboe playing in other nations and in turn is

influenced by these other schools, bringing new growth and innovation just as Tabuteau

developed in the early twentieth century.

The Italian School of Oboe Playing

The variability within the American school of oboe playing as previously mentioned by

Burgess and Haynes (2004) is a commonality that is shared with the Italian oboe school during

the early part of the twentieth century, though time would prove that the Italian school would not

develop the popularity of the American style. Andrea Jayne Ridilla (2010), professor of oboe at

Miami University in Oxford, OH, interviewed Sandro Caldini, solo oboist with the Academia

Secolo XXI Orchestra in Legnarno, Italy and professor of oboe at the Udine Conservatory, for an

article which provides details about the Italian style of oboe playing and its defining

8

characteristics. Professor Caldini relates that “there is an interesting book on the oboe, written

by Giovanni Bigotti, in which he documented many Italian oboe schools each teaching a

different style (Turin, Milan, Parma, Bologna, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo)”.11

Bigotti’s book, History of the Oboe and its Literature, was written in the 1960’s and was updated

in the 1980’s. The variability found within the Italian school of oboe playing was largely due to

the differences found within the different regions of Italy.12

In this interview, Caldini concludes

that “I believe Italian wind playing all began in reference to the voice. If there is one defining

quality, it has to be the lyrical vocal quality.”13

Within Ridilla’s interview, Caldini provides additional information about the Italian

School’s oboe sound:

For many teachers in Italy, it is important to have a very dark and huge sound, and to be

able to blend with other orchestral instruments, so much so that the former peculiar oboe

sound becomes, little by little, like the timbre of a clarinet. What a pity that we Italians

are losing our identity of sound! In the past decades, this trend towards a dark, expansive

tone has continued in many educational institutions and not only in Italy. I experience

many colleagues who feel hesitant to develop their own original sound simply because

they feel obliged to follow the current trend.14

The German School of Oboe Playing

Allan Vogel (1978), principal oboist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and teacher

at UCLA writes of his oboe studies that encompassed the American, French, and German

schools of oboe playing. He studied with German oboist Lothar Koch, principal oboist of the

Berlin Philharmonic beginning in 1957. Vogel (1978) describes the foundational oboists of the

modern German school:

11 Andrea Jayne Ridilla, “An Indissoluble Marriage: Italian Oboe Playing and the Human Voice,” The

Double Reed 33, no. 1 (Spring 2010): 86, accessed May 10, 2016,

http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR33.1/DR33_1.pdf.

12

Ibid.

13

Ibid.

14

Ibid, 87.

9

Karl Steins, who had already been a member of the Berlin Philharmonic for some years

when Koch arrived, had a role in the development of modern German playing not unlike

that of Marcel Tabuteau in the U.S. Just as Tabuteau developed the American oboe tone

in response to the glorious Philadelphia string sound, Steins’ shimmering ethereal tone

became a major influence on German oboe playing. Lothar Koch coming into the

orchestra at age twenty-one also fell under Stein’s influence, but before long had

surpassed him.15

Burgess and Haynes (2004) give specifics about the sound that is typified by the German school:

German oboe playing has become renowned for its dark tone, minimal vibrato and

overall more ‘solid’ tone than the flexible approach to tone production in French and

British playing. This has been carried perhaps the furthest by players of the Berlin

school—Lothar Koch (1927-) and the current oboists with the Berlin Philharmonic,

Hansjorg Schellenberger (1948-) and Albrecht Mayer (1965-).16

Vogel (1978), through his studies with oboe greats from each of these schools has a

unique perspective into the differences that exist between these three schools of oboe playing.

He points out that “this Berlin concept of playing was so very different than what I had learned

from (Fernand) Gillet, one could almost say the two styles were diametrically opposed.”17

The

extreme differences between the French and German schools create very different resulting

sounds within the woodwind section of the orchestra. Burgess and Haynes (2004) quote the

British conductor Sir Henry Wood who characterizes the difference in orchestral sound that is

the outcome of these different schools of oboe playing:

Already in the 1920’s Sir Henry Wood found German double reeds quite different from

the more ‘cultivated’ sound of British oboes and bassoons: “In England and France the

oboes and bassoons, with their beautiful scales of even quality, have almost lost their

‘bite’….Hence, when we go to Germany, the first thing which strikes us is the ‘bite’ of

the oboes and bassoons, even while we dislike their throaty quality.”18

15 Allan Vogel, “French, German, and American Oboe Playing: Some Reflection on Having Studied with

Fernand Gillet, Lothar Koch, and Robert Bloom,” The Double Reed 6, (1978): 8(self-numbered-no numbers given),

accessed May 23, 2016, http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/Journal/JNL6/JNL6.index.html.

16

Burgess & Haynes, The Oboe, 204.

17

Vogel, 8.

18


10

Vogel (1978) provides an all-encompassing quote from Koch, “Whatever the national

school, the sound should just really be beautiful.”19

Koch summarizes the end result that all

oboists are endlessly striving for, no matter their national school. Oboists are frequently high

prioritizers of sound above all else. The first attribute positively mentioned by a non-oboist is

usually the ‘sound.’ The compliment is usually focused around the amazing sound of a good

oboist and, conversely, the opposite is often true as well.

The French School of Oboe Playing

Allan Vogel (1978) also studied with Fernand Gillet who like Marcel Tabuteau trained

with his uncle, George Gillet who played with the Paris Opera from 1895-1904 and taught at the

Paris Conservatoire from 1881-1919. Burgess and Haynes (2004) credit George Gillet with

“establishing the character of the modern French oboe.”20

Vogel (1978) states that “the French

sound on the oboe, and on most instruments, has tended to be light delicate and flexible.”21

Vogel’s (1978) article explains Georges and Fernand Gillet’s methods for teaching wind,

embouchure, tonguing, fingering, articulation, and the art of practicing of which he states that it

was “his most important teaching, and the most difficult to master.”22

“He (Fernand Gillet) often

said ‘I am here, not to teach you how to play, but how to practice.’ One of his central axioms

was ‘It’s not how much you practice, it’s how you practice.’”23

This focused and specific

training is a hallmark of the French school because of Georges Gillet’s teaching. Burgess and

Haynes (2004) explain that: “The French school stood apart from others also because of the

Conservatoire training. …..the French oboe school developed as an institution of technical

19 Burgess & Haynes, The Oboe, 204.

20

Ibid, 192.

21

Vogel, “French, German, and American Oboe Playing,” 8.

22

Ibid, 6.

23

Ibid.

11

virtuosity and was sometimes criticized for privileging digital proficiency over beauty of tone

and interpretation.”24

The French school is the foundation on which the American school of oboe playing was

built. Not only did Marcel Tabuteau receive his training within the French school, but many

characteristic qualities of the French school are still seen within the American school today along

with the modifications and innovations of Tabuteau and his students and other American oboists.

Burgess and Haynes (2004) detail this French foundation by explaining:

The school formed by (Georges) Gillet earned international fame. Paris-trained oboists

took up appointments around the world, notably in the United States. German oboists

had formerly been in the majority in American wind sections, but from the last years of

the nineteenth century the top orchestras sought out French players. Wherever their

appointments took them, Gillet’s pupils took their master’s exacting technical demands,

sense of sonority, and their Conservatoire (Lorée) oboes. 25

The British School of Oboe Playing

Burgess and Haynes (2004) bring understanding of the British school of oboe playing in

the twentieth century when stating: “characterized by oboes either French-made or inspired and

light, responsive reeds, British oboe playing is usually identified as closer to the French than to

the German school. The playing of Leon Goossens, principal oboist of the London Philharmonic

Orchestra from 1932-1939, is synonymous with the British school of oboe playing sound.

Burgess and Haynes (2004) attribute Goossens with being “responsible almost single-handedly

for putting the oboe back on the map as a solo instrument.”26

The playing of Goossens is often

likened to the playing of Tabuteau, not necessarily because of the sound but because of the

innovation Goossens brought to the British school. Burgess and Haynes (2004) clearly explain

the differences between these two contemporaries which also delineates the differences between


25

Ibid, 195.

26

Ibid, 196.

12

the British and American schools when referencing the recordings done by each of these oboists

of the Mozart Oboe Quartet in F Major, K.370: “Just as Goossens’s incisive articulation and

present vibrato have become prominent markers of English oboe playing, so have Tabuteau’s

round tone, subdued tonguing and modest use of vibrato become hallmarks of the American

style.”27

It is evident that the Italian and German schools have several similarities. The sounds of

the French and British schools are similar also, but are on the other end of the spectrum from the

Italian and German schools.

Oboists of the American School

Marcel Tabuteau

The French oboist, Marcel Tabuteau, was and very much still is the defining influence in

the world of American oboe playing. Galbraith (2011) states that:

Tabuteau’s legacy can be attributed to the significant impact that his ideas concerning

musical performance and interpretation had on the American style of oboe playing.

Firmly rooted in music theory as well as the laws of nature and logic, Tabuteau spent his

career refining his concepts and passing them along to future generations. His methods

have come to be known as the “Tabuteau System,” a term that he used himself.28

In Tabuteau’s (2001) audio CD of twelve lessons that were recorded in Nice, France

between 1965 and 1966, he instructs “As a good advice to my young friends – wind players, I

want to warn them against the general tendency to try to imitate without having had the basic

techniques necessary to perform.”29

Tabuteau provides the oboist twelve specific lessons on this

audio CD in which he covers the topics of Wind Control, Breath Taking, Number System Intro,

Dancing Numbers, Singing Intervals, St. Peter Audition, Glissandos, Inflection Distribution,

27 Burges & Haynes, The Oboe, 201.

28

Galbraith, “The American School of Oboe Playing,” 14.

29

Marcel Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, recorded by Marcel Tabuteau 1965-1966, Duxbury, MA:

Boston Records, 2001. CD, Jacket Notes-Transcript p. 11 (self-numbered).

13

Interrogative Mode, Practice Routines, Slurred-Detached Articulation, and Up-Down Key.30

Through this audio CD, the oboist has not only the opportunity to learn from hearing Mr.

Tabuteau himself explain these key concepts of playing within the American style of oboe

playing from the man who developed them, but also the oboist gains an even better

understanding of these concepts by listening to Tabuteau’s own playing examples. Though

learning about Tabuteau’s principles of expression, phrasing, and breathing from the accounts of

his students and their students are the best way for today’s oboists to gain knowledge of how to

play within the American style of oboe playing, this audio CD provides a connection to Tabuteau

that would otherwise be impossible for the current generation and future generations of oboists.

Potentially the most definitive and comprehensive book ever written about Tabuteau,

Marcel Tabuteau: How Do You Expect to Play the Oboe If You Can’t Peel a Mushroom?, by

Laila Storch (2008), one of the few female students who studied with Tabuteau, yields a wealth

of information about his general life and about his oboe playing and teaching.

Within her book she describes her studies with Tabuteau and specifics of her lessons. We

learn from her recollections about Tabuteau’s high expectations for each student and how he was

not easily impressed. In one such account, Storch (2008) tells of a lesson she had with Tabuteau

in February of 1944. During Storch’s lesson “he (Tabuteau) screamed and roared, ‘my leetle

fran (friend), you are careless—I have told you, you are careless. It is unbelievable. What is da

matter wid you?? Stupide! You do not know how to practeece.’”31

Loui Kuyper-Rushing

(2009) studied with a student of Marcel Tabuteau, Earnest Harrison, in the 70’s and provides his

perspective about Storch’s book and Tabuteau. “Storch’s book describes a man who was almost

bigger than life. While endowed with an unsurpassed talent and an ability to teach and

30 Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 11-22.

31

Laila Storch, Marcel Tabuteau: How Do You Expect to Play the Oboe If You Can’t Peel a Mushroom?

(Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2008), 294.

14

communicate about and through music, he was a man with bizarre habits, an insatiable ego, and

many human weaknesses.” 32

Storch (2008) recounts of her time studying with Tabuteau that

“quite soon I came to recognize that there was a strong element of the theatrical in Tabuteau’s

character and even a sense of humor underlying many of his comments, but this did not make it

easier to accept when he shouted and screamed at me.”33

Storch (2008) includes a quote by

Earnest Harrison within her book: “No matter how mean he could be, none of us who heard him

play could help but be influenced and inspired by the quality of that man’s sound. He not only

changed the way we play the oboe, but he changed the whole approach to music in our country.

This man was unique.”34

John de Lancie

John de Lancie is one of the foremost known American school oboists who would

continue in the playing and teaching style begun by Tabuteau. De Lancie took over from

Tabuteau at the Curtis Institute of Music and played with the Philadelphia Orchestra as principal

oboe from 1954 – 1977.35

Galbraith (2011) explains that “by continuing the principles of tone

production and musical phrasing that he learned through Tabuteau, de Lancie and his students

established a style of playing that has come to be known as the ‘Philadelphia style.’”36

Galbraith (2011) continues to reference the contributions of de Lancie’s teachings to the

American school of oboe playing when she states that:

Although de Lancie did not record his pedagogical ideas, his students are largely

responsible for much of the scholarly literature about American oboe pedagogy. Jay

Light, Marylin Zupnick, David Weber, Martin Schuring, and David McGill have all made

32 Lois Kuyper-Rushing, review of book by Laila Storch, Marcel Tabuteau: How Do You Expect to Play

the Oboe If You Can’t Peel a Mushroom?, Notes 65, no. 4 (June 2009): 768, accessed November 30, 2015,

http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/263818.

33

Storch, Marcel Tabuteau, 218.

34

Ibid, 208.

35


36

Ibid.

15

scholarly contributions. As a result, many of de Lancie’s ideas concerning musical

expression and tone production can be extracted from these secondary sources.37

John Mack

John Mack is one of the most famous students of Marcel Tabuteau who would carry on

the Tabuteau tradition, and would make his own lasting impact upon the school of American

oboe playing. John Mack played with the Cleveland Orchestra from 1965-2001 and taught at the

Cleveland Institute of Music. Sotos Djiovanis, student of John Mack, speaks of Mack’s

teachings: “in lessons he (Mack) often quotes Tabuteau’s teachings, but elaborates on them

further, since he is not at all interested in ‘keeping any musical knowledge secret’ from his

students.”38

Galbraith (2011) gives further information about Mack’s impact upon the American

school of oboe playing: “Mack’s success as a pedagogue during his long tenure at the Cleveland

Institute of Music rivals that of his teacher, Tabuteau. Passionately dedicated, he understood and

respected the great responsibility of teaching music. He was an effective communicator of both

musical ideas and technical aspects of playing. Mack’s students continue to hold prominent

positions in American orchestras and music schools.”39

In his audio CD, Orchestral Excerpts for Oboe, John Mack (1994) gives oboists specific

instruction on how to play twenty of the most difficult oboe excerpts from the standard

symphonic orchestral repertoire. In the cover notes for his audio CD, Mack (1994) provides

audition preparation notes for oboists such as his thoughts on high notes: “I feel that the high

notes must be truly ‘up’ on the instrument and in the reed (shape, scrape, and gouge) so that the

37 Galbraith, “The American School of Oboe Playing,” 36.

38

Sotos G. Djiovanis, “John Mack: Oboe Teacher,” The Double Reed 28, no. 1 (Spring 2005): 98,

accessed May 27, 2017, http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR28.1/DRVol.28.1-SS.pdf.

39


16

position of the reed (in or out) on the lips and proper wind speed will be all that is needed to

insure note placement.”40

Joseph Robinson

Joseph Robinson has also made a significant contribution to the development of the

American oboe style through his own playing and teaching. He studied with Tabuteau and

Mack. Robinson was the principal oboist with the New York Philharmonic for twenty-seven

years. Robinson continues teaching in the Tabuteau and Mack tradition currently just as he did

during his time teaching at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Manhattan School of

Music, and later at Duke University. Robinson stated that “the five weeks of lessons I had with

him (Tabuteau) opened the door to my professional career, more than compensating for the

conservatory training I had never received.”41

Shelly Rusincovitch (2006) in her article about Joseph Robinson found in The Double

Reed journal details her experience studying with Robinson. “As the last American oboist to

have studied with Tabuteau, Robinson has a unique perspective on the life and teachings of this

enormously influential musician who is credited with shaping the American style of oboe

playing.”42

Rusincovitch (2006) further details Robinson’s teaching of a Barret etude: He first

broke the phrases apart, describing the principles at work, and then performed the piece in its

40 John Mack, Orchestral Excerpts, Oboe, recorded by John Mack 1994, Tempe, AZ: Summit Records,

1994. CD, p. Jacket Notes.

41

Joseph Robinson, “What I Learned in the Lenoir High School Band,” The Wilson Quarterly 19, no. 4

(Autumn 1995): 102, accessed April 27, 2017,

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/197242240/fulltext/955BF96350234E56PQ/1?accountid=1

2085.

42

Shelley Rusincovitch, “A Day in the Oboe Studio of Joseph Robinson,” The Double Reed 29, no. 2

(Summer 2006): 16, accessed December 17, 2015,


17

entirety. Each phrase was shaped uniquely and meaningfully; the music flowed beautifully from

start to finish, and it was difficult to imagine a note being out of place.43

Neal (1999) speaks about Robinson’s approach to breathing: “Robinson explains that

oboists should perform with minimal physical tension. In accordance with the theory, taking a

large breath adversely affects playing because it results in unnecessary tension as a large volume

of air is held in the lungs without means for escape. He advocates, instead, a more natural

approach to oboe respiration.”44

Twentieth Century Oboe Repertoire

In addition to the contributions that were made by oboists to the development of the new

American oboe style, twentieth century compositions added their own contributions by requiring

new techniques of oboists. Camille Saint-Saëns composed his Sonata for Oboe and Piano, Opus

166 in 1921. Krista Riggs (2008) in her article about the sonatas of Camille Saint-Saëns and

Francis Poulenc (Sonata for Oboe and Piano, written in 1962) points out that “Saint-Saëns

focused his music on preserving French tradition in a neo-Classical style despite the dominating

influence of Wagnerian chromatic saturation and extended forms and harmonies.” 45

Burgess and Haynes (2004) further discuss the Sonata by Saint-Saëns and also the Sonata

for Oboe by Charles Koechlin:

Two important solo works from the period were closely associated with the Gillet school.

The more significant, and the only one to have found a place in the oboe’s standard

repertoire, is Saint-Saëns’s Oboe Sonata (1921). One of the composer’s last works, it is

dedicated to Gillet’s pupil Louis-Jean-Baptiste Bas. Its simple lyricism – particularly the

lilting Siciliana rhythm of the second movement with its framing arabesque incantations

– has endeared the piece to oboists worldwide. The other work is the Sonata by Charles

43 Rusincovitch, “A Day in the Studio,” 16.

44

Neal, “The American Oboe School,” 55.

45

Krista Riggs, “Oboe at the Close: The Oboe Sonatas of Francis Poulenc and Camille Saint-Saens,” The

Double Reed 31, no. 3 (Fall 2008): 73.

18

Koechlin (op. 58, 1915-16), premiered by Louis Bleuzet in 1922, but widely known only

after its publication in the 1950s.46

The Sonata by Saint-Saëns today is a well-established part of an oboist’s repertoire. The

Koechlin Sonata is a beautiful and interesting sonata though somewhat lesser known than the

Saint-Saëns Sonata.

Newer techniques such as playing in the extreme upper range of the instrument,

harmonics, and circular breathing were beginning to be necessary in the middle to late twentieth

century. Christopher Redgate (2007) speaks in his article, Re-inventing the Oboe, about the new

demands placed upon oboists by music written in the twentieth century and into the twenty-first

century. “A brief comparison of the oboe’s available repertoire from the mid-1950s with some

of its more adventurous repertoire of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century

demonstrates a remarkable difference in composers’ expectations of the performers, what is

deemed playable, and even the concept of the sound world.”47

In an interview with Albrecht Mayer by Aaron Grad (2010) found in The Double Reed,

Mayer speaks about the Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra by Richard Strauss

that was written in 1945. Mayer discusses the use of the technique of circular breathing in order

to more easily play this concerto: “I am quite sure that he knew some oboe players who could do

circular breathing perfectly. Because later, when oboe players tried to play the concerto,

everybody was complaining that it is nearly unplayable because of the breathing problem.”48

Though circular breathing has been an available technique to wind players for quite some time, it

has not been widely used by oboists until more recently for reasons such as the Strauss Concerto.

46 Burgess and Haynes, The Oboe, 194.

47

Christopher Redgate, “Re-inventing the Oboe,” Contemporary Music Review 26, no. 2 (April 2007):

179, accessed May 9, 2016, doi: 10.1080/07494460701295382.

48

Aaron Grad, “In Their Own Words with Albrecht Mayer,” The Double Reed 33, no. 1 (Spring 2010): 92,

accessed May 27, 2017, http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR33.1/DR33_1.pdf.

19

Oboe Instrument Making

The oboists of the twentieth century endeavored to continue to play lyrical and melodic

music while also being up to the challenges of the techniques encountered in the newer repertoire

being written for the oboe. Tabuteau popularized the Lorée oboe in America in the early

twentieth century and Lorée oboes remain the preference for the majority of current American

oboists. Robert Howe’s (2011) article about nineteenth century French oboe making states that

“in 1906 Lorée’s son, Adolphe Lucien Lorée, and Gillet modified the system 6 oboe to the 6bis

(plateau) oboe that is used today worldwide, continuing the Triebert tradition.”49

Burgess and

Haynes (2004) give further details about Georges Gillet’s impact on the Lorée oboe:

Lorée’s most significant modification to Triebert’s system 6 was the addition of pierced

key-pads above all six finger-holes. As well as giving a somewhat more covered sound

and allowing the last of the remaining tricky trills and tremolo to be negotiated by

moving just one finger, the finger-pads have a significant effect on the “feel” and

response of the instrument.50

The Lorée oboes that were designed in 1906 are the same oboes that the majority of American

oboists use to play the entire standard oboe repertoire, though a few alterations and variety have

been added in the form of newer models such as the Lorée AK or the Lorée ROYAL models.

Oboe Reed Styles

American oboists often implement changes to their reed scrape in order to accommodate

particular demands in music. While reed making is often considered an arduous process that

does not always reliably produce the results that were hoped for, reed making is in fact the

double reed player’s secret weapon to adapting to most playing situations and to the demands of

different compositions. Though a clarinetist’s mouthpiece, ligature, and reed combination or a

brass player’s mouthpiece specifications can certainly be changed and adjusted for various

49 Howe, “Nineteenth Century French Oboe Making Revealed,” 80.

50


20

playing situations, this is far more easily done by an oboist who is constantly from necessity

making new reeds. It is rare to find a brass player who manufactures his or her own mouthpieces

and is an expert at dealing with metal the way an oboist must become an expert at cane

processing and all its endless variables. An oboist will occasionally have several reeds ready to

meet the various demands required by different composers within the same concert and even

within the same piece of music. Every piece of cane is different and it is sometimes difficult to

achieve all necessary possibilities within the same reed.

Tabuteau changed the standard European reed scrape into what would become the

American reed scrape that is still in use currently in America. The book, Oboe Reed Styles:

Theory and Practice by David A. Ledet (1981), Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of

Georgia, is a compilation of pictures and descriptions about the oboe reed scrapes of famous

oboists from all over the world. This book provides an invaluable resource for oboists trying to

understand how an oboist’s reed scrape and style translates into the sound of a specific oboist.

Using these pictures, the oboist is able to compare and contrast the reeds of oboists whose

sounds are quite different or of oboists whose sounds are similar and then use this information in

the making of his or her own reeds. Ledet (1981) further goes on to describe the characteristics

of the French style scrape, the American style scrape, the English style scrape, the Dutch style

scrape, the Viennese style scrape, and the German style scrape which Ledet describes as “a

borderline style.”51

Because of the importance of the type of reed scrape used in the American school of oboe

playing, the doctoral treatise by Reid G. Messich (2012) entitled The Philadelphia Influence on

51 David Ledet, Oboe Reed Styles: Theory and Practice (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press,

1981), 172.

21

the Art of Reed Making is also pertinent to this study.52

Messich (2012) is a graduate of the

Curtis Institute of Music and studied with Richard Woodhams. Messich (2012) details the

development of reed making in the Philadelphia/Curtis style and presents a step by step guide to

the making of oboe reeds in the Philadelphia/Curtis style.

Being able to define the characteristics visually of a certain style is only helpful if the

oboists can then translate that into the ability to reproduce these characteristics in their own

reeds. Past oboe professor at Arizona State University, Martin Schuring (2009) provides a

detailed guide into the making of American scrape oboe reeds in his book Oboe Art and Method.

Professor Schuring (2009) goes into detail about every stage in reed making including processing

tube cane, gouging the cane, shaping the cane, folding the cane, tying on the cane, scraping the

cane, and the final finishing scraping of the nearly completed American scrape reed. Professor

Schuring tells the beginner reed maker, “So you’re not making reeds. You’re learning to make

reeds. There’s a big difference.”53

Generally all oboists can expect to play on the reeds of their

teacher while learning the process of making reeds. This greatly alleviates stress and frustration

for the student and allows development on the actual instrument instead of only being consumed

with the production of a decent sounding reed. Vogel (1978) recounts how one of his teachers,

Fernand Gillet, tackled the problem of reed making:

At age nine or ten, while starting to make his first reed, the young Fernand discovered

that he did not enjoy the process. In the best tradition of French rationalism he reasoned

that he would never be really good at something which he didn’t enjoy, and laid down his

tools forever.54

52 Reid G. Messich, “The Philadelphia Influence on the Art of Reed Making,” (PhD diss., Florida State

University, 2012), accessed April 11, 2017, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

53

Martin Schuring, Oboe Art and Method (Oxford University Press, 2009), 103.

54


22

Vogel (1978) then reminds the reader that “the boy’s uncle (Georges Gillet) made fantastic

reeds”.55

The realization that even the great oboists who have reached the heights of success

professionally, still have struggled with reed making can equally be disconcerting or provide

mental relief to student oboists. Oboists feel relief in the fact that reed making is a difficult area

for all oboists, yet may simultaneously feel that if an oboist such as Fernand Gillet gave up on

reed making—how will they ever attempt to find success as a reed maker. Even though the

process of learning to make reliably good reeds in whatever style the oboist prefers really never

ends, it is a crucial element in producing the oboist’s sound.

Summary

The Italian school of oboe playing is comprised of a large degree of variability which is a

trait shared with the American school. The German school of oboe playing is known for its rich

depth of tone quality which is a stark contrast to the lighter and more expressive sound for which

the French and British schools of oboe playing are known. Though initially based in the French

school, Marcel Tabuteau’s unique innovations and creativity, such as his development of a new

style of oboe reed, led to the development of the American school of oboe playing.

The American school’s sound is heard in the playing of well-known American oboists

such as Marcel Tabuteau, John de Lancie, John Mack, and Joseph Robinson amongst others.

The transition from the French oboe school sound that Tabuteau trained in to what has come to

be known as the American oboe school sound was influenced by these American oboists along

with twentieth century music repertoire and newer playing techniques despite the continued

preference of American oboists for Lorée oboes that were designed well before these demands

existed.

55 Vogel, “French, German, and American Oboe Playing,” 2.

23

Chapter 3

Methodological Design

This study was undertaken to find contributing factors that led to the development of the

American style of oboe playing. This was accomplished through a qualitative research study.

Qualitative research involves the use of theories. Qualitative research views a theory as a

perspective that brings context to the research. Sometimes, theory will be renamed in qualitative

research as an explanation. Everything that is learned and discovered within this type of research

approach is viewed from the standpoint of this theory or explanation. The qualitative research

method allowed this study to begin with the theory that multiple contributing factors led to the

development of the American style of oboe playing and then through research, to further define

and understand this theory. This research method enabled this study to incorporate open-ended

questions and to then include within its findings the resulting answers of these questions. This

study is of narrative design which involves studying the experiences or stories of individuals.

Data Collection

The research conducted for this study included seven interviews with American,

professional oboists and the quotes of founding oboists of the American school of oboe playing

researched from available archival sources.

Archival Sources

This study included an investigation of books, journal articles, audio CD jacket notes and

transcripts, and any other available archival material about oboists from the early and middle

twentieth century and related aspects that led to the development and continued growth of the

American school of oboe playing.

24

Interviews

In order to understand how the development of the American oboe style continues to

impact today’s oboists, interviews were carried out over a period of six months with seven

American oboe university professors and professional oboists. These interviews sought to

provide insight into how current American oboists view this history, what relationship they

perceive to have with the early and middle twentieth century founding father oboists of the

American school, and how this oboe history continues to inform their playing and teaching.

Participants were selected by their achieved level of professional proficiency as oboe performers

in American symphony orchestras and/or educators at American conservatories, universities, or

colleges. Informed consent forms were obtained from each participant.

Qualitative Data Analysis

Data analysis was primarily tied to defining musical stylistic characteristics and their

sources. This study sought to group together specific characteristics that potentially came from

oboe music, famous oboists, oboe reed styles, or orchestra conductors. This grouping brings

organization and meaning to the research.

IRB Approval Process

This research proposal was submitted to the Liberty IRB for review to ensure that all

participants were properly considered and not at risk. Signed consent forms from all participants

were collected as part of this study.

Conclusion

This study brings clarity about the trickledown effect of the defining characteristics of the

American oboe style. The availability of this type of information informs current oboe teachers,

current music educators whose primary instrument is not the oboe, and student oboists who do

25

not have access to higher level training. Music educators who have a good understanding of

what constitutes the American oboe style are better equipped to teach the oboe students they will

encounter in their school music programs.

This study included elements about how the American style of oboe playing continues to

evolve. The interviews included as part of this study are made up of open ended questions about

the present state of the American oboe school that yielded a unique perspective into the world of

oboe playing in America today.

26

Chapter 4

Part 1: Archival Research Findings

Through research of available archival information, this study’s scope includes the

organization of the distinct characteristics that define the American school of oboe playing and

the primary contributors-mainly Marcel Tabuteau-that played their parts in its development.

Tracing quotes from teachers to students and to their students beyond illuminates the

development and progression of the American oboe school. This process leads to greater clarity

for oboists and music educators about the American school of oboe playing that can appear to be

somewhat of a nebulous style despite the seemingly unified style that the name implies. Geoffrey

Burgess and Bruce Haynes (2004), in their book, The Oboe, state that “when asked to

characterize their national preference in oboe playing, American oboists use epithets such as

‘dark, warm, controlled, stable tone’ in contrast to the ‘reedy, wild and uncontrolled’ playing of

Europeans”.56

The characteristics of the American school were established relatively quickly in

the early and middle nineteenth century, and have become a wonderful combination of old and

new traits that together form the basis of how American oboists play currently.

The Tabuteau Tradition

Any mention of the American style of oboe playing always includes and more often is

dominated by Marcel Tabuteau—the French oboist who studied under Georges Gillet, came to

America in 1905, played initially in the New York Symphony under Walter Damrosch and

would go on to make history while playing in the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1915-1954.

Tabuteau further cemented his legacy through his teaching of a new generation of American

oboists at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Laila Storch remarks of Tabuteau that:


27

To his own oboe students he passed on the best elements of the French woodwind

tradition, at the same time establishing such new standards of finesse in orchestral

blending, variety of tone color, and nuance of phrasing that what is now known as the

“American school of oboe playing,” or, more specifically, the “Tabuteau style,” has

become the accepted and expected norm for oboists in all American symphony

orchestras.57

Burgess and Haynes (2008) state that “the Tabuteau tradition remains strongest in

Philadelphia, where Tabuteau’s pupil John de Lancie took over after Tabuteau’s retirement in

1954 and continued up to 1985, and where de Lancie’s pupil, Richard Woodhams, now

continues the tradition.”58

Bassoonist David McGill (2007) quotes John de Lancie in his book Sound In Motion:

John de Lancie, Tabuteau’s student and successor as principal oboist of the Philadelphia

Orchestra, and oboe and woodwind instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music, put it well

when describing Tabuteau’s effect on the oboists of his day: “There may be other areas

of endeavor where people can say that so-and-so had as great an influence, but I can’t

imagine anybody having had more of an influence, whether it be in painting or in poetry

or in literature….His influence was total. Everybody wanted to play and sound like

Tabuteau.”59

The American School Begins

In July of 2002, Miriam Jakes (2005) interviewed her teacher from the New England

Conservatory, Ralph Gomberg, at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Ralph Gomberg, brother of

the oboist Harold Gomberg, studied with Tabuteau at the Curtis Institute of Music beginning in

1935. The following account of the story of how the American school of conservatory oboe

and music training came into existence by Ralph Gomberg is particularly insightful because of

his immersion in these events as they were happening:

About thirty years ago, I (Ralph Gomberg) received a letter from a dean of a college of

music. He asked my advice on which school of oboe they should concentrate: American

or French? I tried to explain that the American school was started by happy

57

Storch, Marcel Tabuteau, IX.

58


59

David McGill, Sound in Motion: A Performer’s Guide to Greater Musical Expression (Bloomington, IN:

Indiana University Press, 2007), 5.

28

circumstance. A friend of Leopold Stokowski’s, who had a settlement school, told him

that every once in a while she had students who were very gifted musicians – what to do?

Stokowski said that she should start a school just for very talented students; small but

high level. He would head the conducting department. Teachers would be needed for

composition and solfège – a real conservatory based on the European conservatory

system. He would also take care of finding teachers for the different instruments.

Among these were: Kincaid, Guetter and later Schoenbach, Horner on horn, Bonnard

(Bonade) for clarinet, and Tabuteau for oboe. There would be auditions throughout the

country. Full scholarships would be provided. From that acorn grew a giant oak tree

which became the Curtis Institute of Music. Eventually, Tabuteau became head of the

whole wind department, but at that time Tabuteau only taught oboe. He was a graduate

of the Paris Conservatory. We must conclude that Tabuteau was a Frenchman teaching

French style oboe playing, but it goes beyond that. Tabuteau did more than just teach the

oboe- he also taught music. He loved the oboe and considered it the most expressive

instrument in the orchestra. He went to the point of changing the shape of the oboe reed

and changed the style of reed making.60

The Tabuteau/Philadelphia Sound

Quotes by Marcel Tabuteau about his Playing/American School Characteristics

Marc Mostovoy, a violist and conductor who studied with Tabuteau and to whom was

given the task of assembling Tabuteau’s teachings by Tabuteau himself, quotes Tabuteau in his

presentation found in a 2016 issue of The Double Reed entitled “In Tabuteau’s Own Words.”

Several generalizations given by Tabuteau about his own playing are: (the words in brackets are

added by Mostovoy for clarity)

The rest [other musicians] are not born [yet]; I’m still on milk.

The conductor knows everything but doesn’t understand anything; I don’t know a thing

but understand a lot.

Memorizing is bad; forgetting is better so music is always fresh. I try to forget; everyone

[else] tries to memorize.

I get my big tone from the position, the angle of the oboe and reed against my lip.61

Tabuteau (1944), speaking with Robert Sabin for Musical America, speaks about tone:

One might make a diagram symbolizing the course of one tone, in the form of an arc.

Out of silence, the most perfect state of music in which everything is implicit the tone

begins. It grows in intensity, the vibrations of the reed increase, until it reaches its

60 Miriam Jakes, “Ralph Gomberg: Oboist,” The Double Reed 28, no. 1 (Spring 2005): 96, accessed May

27, 2017, http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR28.1/DRVol.28.1-SS.pdf.

61 Marc Mostovoy, “In Tabuteau’s Own Words,” The Double Reed 39, no. 4 (Winter 2016): 178.

29

highest point. Then it recedes according to the same scale of intensity until it dies away

in silence. If it is perfectly produced by the player, the listener will sense its symmetry

even though he may not be conscious of how the effect has been produced.62

Further foundational information about tone is found in the Robert Sabin interview

(1944) when Tabuteau elaborates that: “The quality and intensity of oboe tone are determined

by the pressure of the wind, and it is the gradation of this pressure which the student must

develop to the highest degree. The speed of the wind and the position of the lips make all the

difference between a tight, ‘tooth-ache,’ tone and a sensitive, free coloring.”63

Quotes by Marcel Tabuteau about His Teaching Method

Before he passed away, Tabuteau gave later generations the gift of recording himself

teaching about what would become known famously as the Tabuteau Tradition through which

oboists and musicians may gain a deeper immersion into the American style of oboe playing.

Wayne Rapier helped facilitate these recordings that took place from August 1965 until the day

before Tabuteau’s death.64

The following are direct quotes of Tabuteau’s found in the transcript

of these lesson sessions included with the audio CD: “Very important; -avoid the crocodile bite

with an immobile embouchure.65

As good advice to my young friends-wind players, I want to

warn them against the general tendency to try to imitate without having had the basic technique

necessary to perform.”66

McGill (2007) provides further understanding of this Tabuteau quote by explaining:

He (Tabuteau) warns against a “monkey see, monkey do” method of trying to be

great. Trying to imitate artists whom one admires without first knowing what they are

saying through the music renders one’s playing as no more than an empty exercise filled

with meaningless gestures. It is meaningless because the monkey doesn’t know why he

62 Marcel Tabuteau, interview by Robert Sabin, Musical America, November 25, 1944.

63 Ibid.

64

Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 9-10.

65

Ibid, 13.

66

Ibid, 11.

30

is doing any of the things he is mimicking and has no idea what any of it means.

However, once one understands what a great musician is saying, then one is able to

emulate. Imitation is the hollow act of aping what another person does. Emulation is a

living process of understanding that leads one closer to sincerity.67

In Reference to his Number System:

Remember the progression of numbers is not exactly a crescendo or a

diminuendo. It is rather a scaling of color. To understand this point, think of the bowing

distribution on the violin – in the space between the finger board and the bridge. With

the oboe, the speed of the wind, also the position of the reed on the lips, are equivalent to

the potential existing on the violin for producing tone color.

In my opinion, the quality that carries is the amplification of a dolce tone. The

dolce tone is the nearest to zero! Therefore, I am in favor of a mobile flexible

embouchure which will give you the possibility to scale tone color as on the violin!

If you play one note on the tip of the reed, as I will illustrate shortly, and move

gradually toward the bottom of the reed, that note will determine different colors.

Be sure to understand me! By “tone color,” I mean the physical life of the notes.68

In Reference to Dancing Numbers:

“I have always been in favor to play as I think. Of course, the ideal combination would

be to play with thinking and intelligent feeling.”69

In Reference to Inflection:

“In my opinion the oboe technique is similar to the human voice technique.”70

In Reference to Breathing:

David McGill (2007) in his book Sound in Motion-A Performer’s Guide to Greater

Musical Expression quotes Tabuteau: “Like us, music must inhale and exhale to be alive.”71

67

McGill, Sound in Motion, 283-284.

68

Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 13.

69

Ibid, 14.

70 Ibid, 18.

71

McGill, Sound in Motion, 79.

31

Descriptions of Tabuteau’s Playing Characteristics from his Students

Joseph Robinson

Tabuteau’s unique, to that time, sound and playing is best explained by the descriptions

of his students. Joseph Robinson (1995) in his article What I Learned in the Lenoir High School

Band, states that:

Tabuteau astonished me repeatedly with his mastery of elements of playing I had not

known even existed. In an eight-note phrase of his own invention, he would trace an arc

through time, then change the inflections of notes along the curve in terms of shape,

color, and articulation. He would establish a rhythmic pulse, then retard it or speed it up,

with magical effect. He adorned his tone with a multilayered vibrato, his melody with

ingenious ornamentation. And the effect of it all was to demonstrate, beyond any doubt,

that the artistic challenge of playing an instrument is infinite, limited only by a player’s

imagination, perception, and discipline.72

Here is evidence of Tabuteau putting into practice his own system of teaching expression.

All of the variations that Robinson speaks of serve to infuse Tabuteau’s playing with vibrancy

and life. The listener never thinks of what Tabuteau or any performer using these variations is

doing because they simply are enjoying the exceptional music that is produced as a result.

Laila Storch

Storch (2008) makes mention of Tabuteau’s thoughts on technique in the preface of her

comprehensive book about Tabuteau: “to him, oboe technique was the total control of all the

elements required to most ideally express the life of a musical phrase. This meant a coordination

of the use of one’s wind, the embouchure, variety of tone color and nuance, articulation, and,

above all, imagination and personality.”73

Storch (2008) recounts her thoughts on February 15, 1943 about Tabuteau’s playing in

her comprehensive book about Tabuteau.

72 Robinson, “What I Learned,” 103.

73

Storch, Marcel Tabuteau, X.

32

I am more and more impressed by Tabuteau, but you really miss about three-

fourths of his playing from the radio…It’s something about making every little phrase

sound just a little different and putting one’s own individuality into it. Tabuteau’s tone is

really beautiful, as lovely as any violin you could imagine, and you always get the

feeling, as he says, “Before you start to play, all the pressure should be behind the note,

just like it’s there before you turn on a faucet of water.” When he plays you know he’s

not giving every last drop of tone he can possibly squeeze out.

His playing is very subtle—never loud.

I am impressed by his tremendous vitality and obvious interest in every note he

plays. Never lets anything sound boring or commonplace. He fusses enough about his

reeds and trying things out before his solos, but when he starts to play, it’s just perfect.74

Richard Woodhams

Richard Woodhams, studied with John de Lancie at the Curtis Institute of Music and

followed in Tabuteau’s and de Lancie’s footsteps as the current principal oboist of the

Philadelphia Orchestra and oboe professor at Curtis. In an article written about him by Diana

Burgwyn (2015) Woodhams says that: “Tabuteau’s music-making was both vivid and refined,

and he was constantly searching for the best way to express great music through phrasing,

nuance, and proportion rather than just playing with a beautiful sound, which he had as well. It

was said of him that he never played a meaningless note.”75

This description by Woodhams further illustrates the high priority Tabuteau placed on

expression in all aspects of an oboist’s playing. Often oboe players are consumed with tone

quality above all else, yet the Tabuteau tradition demands more of the American oboist.

Woodhams (1998) additionally summarizes his training with de Lancie during his study at the

Curtis Institute of Music:

I quickly deduced the following imperatives: that one must develop a prolonged

sostenuto with one’s air, have a clean and reliable attack in the low register, develop a

real dynamic range that is not a mere illusion created by raising and lowering the

74 Storch, Marcel Tabuteau, 225.

75

Diana Burgwyn, “Liquid Fluency,” Overtones (Spring 2015): 10, accessed April 11, 2017,

https://www.curtis.edu/resources/uploads/embeds/file/Spring_2015_RichardWoodham.pdf.

33

instrument, and be able to create the tool helping one to do all of this, a vibrant and

flexible reed.76

Certainly, these aspects of oboe playing are the areas that most oboists, past and present,

spend the majority of their time attempting to master.

The Legacy Begins—Accounts of Tabuteau’s Teaching

Marc Mostovoy’s (2016) presentation found in a 2016 issue of The Double Reed of

Tabuteau’s System shows the comprehensive nature of Tabuteau in regards to his playing and his

teaching. Topic headings include Inhale/Exhale, Up/Down Inflections, ‘Helping’ Up/Down (for

string players), Up/Down Bowing, Bowing Opposite, Side inflections (impulses), Placing Notes,

Up/Down Distribution, Grouping/Groups, Punctuation, Breaths/Breathing,

Interrogative/Affirmative, Dissonance/Consonance, Resolution, Bar Line, To the Downbeat,

Rhyme/Rhythmic Secret, Root Notes, Practicing Rhythmic Accuracy, Inflections (impulses),

Rebounds, Inflection/Rebound Relationship, Phrasing, Numbering System, Dynamics,

Slurring/Slurs, Note Preparation, Smooth Line, Wide Interval Skips, No Smoking—No

Glissando [T’s words!], High Notes, Short/Grace Notes, Middle Notes, Dotted Notes, Note

Endings, Appoggiatura, Vibrato, Tempo (pre-Romanticism), Building Up Speed, The

Loop/Turn, Trills, Inner Work (nuance), Practicing, Conducting, Other Quotes on Music and

Phrasing, On Tabuteau, and Final Step.77

This presentation is complete with illustrations and

musical examples that, along with the audio CD, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons (1996), allows

anyone access to, as close as is possible today, the experience of learning directly from

Tabuteau’s systematic teachings.

76 Richard Woodhams, “A Tribute to My Teacher, John de Lancie” The Double Reed 21, no. 2 (Summer

1998): 82, accessed April 9, 2017, http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR21.2/DR21.2.Index.html.

77 Marc Mostovoy, “In Tabuteau’s Own Words,” 124-178.

34

A remarkable aspect of Tabuteau’s teaching is how he adapted it for all of his students

and their differing situations. Wayne Rapier (Tabuteau 1996), in his cover notes introduction of

to Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons audio CD, states that during his studies with Tabuteau from 1951-

1954 that:

He (Tabuteau) would not mention numbers and/or “ups and downs” unless you were

having difficulties arriving at his acceptable level. Robert Bloom once remarked that we

learned from Mr. Tabuteau “in self defense!” He would push you in the right direction

until you furnished your OWN solution for producing the required results. Each of his

students would furnish different accounts of his “System.”78

Ralph Gomberg, in the Jakes (2005) interview, which took place in 2002, goes on to

characterize how he learned from Tabuteau: “I learned more by listening to Tabuteau play than I

ever did with his number system. I would go on Saturday and listen to him play and watch him

fix reeds. He worked on them; scraping a little, thus changing the color and quality.” 79

Line

In the article, “John Mack—Still ‘Spilling the Beans’ An Interview with James Brody:

Part 3,” Brody (2016) recounts how John Mack describes a particular occasion where Tabuteau

is teaching Mack:

Tabuteau used to teach us sometimes to play a passage on one note. The purpose of that

was to find a way to keep the line intact. He was very much wanting to do that. During

my last year in Curtis I was in his studio with him and he was playing away like a

madman, as usual. And he did something cutesy-poo. Perfumey. He was very good at

that; oh, he could do that, mm-hmmm. He did this thing, then he stopped, pulled the oboe

out of his mouth and said to me (I’m quoting him verbatim): “Mack: disregard what you

just heard me do. I was wrong. Don’t ever forget your first rule of music making: keep

your lines.” I thought he was saying, “Do as I preach, don’t do as I do,” but I was wrong.

I thought it was so marvelous. “Disregard what you heard me do. I was wrong.” 80

78 Wayne Rapier Liner Notes to: Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 9.

79

Jakes, 94.

80 James Brody, “John Mack—Still “Spilling the Beans” An Interview with James Brody: Part 3,” The

Double Reed 39, no. 3 (Fall 2016): 103.

35

Here in this teaching situation is mentioned the all important line that must be given

careful attention not only in the American school of oboe playing, but also throughout all of the

American classical music sound.

Richard Woodhams (1998) also speaks about the importance of the line and quotes John

de Lancie’s teaching in his article “A Tribute to My Teacher, John de Lancie” found in the The

Double Reed.

Echoing Tabuteau, he (de Lancie) said, “Put the notes on the wind, not the wind on the

notes.” [I (Woodhams) find that this elegant concept is often ignored these days by

oboists of every level of accomplishment, with subsequent obliterations of melodic line,

giving the music the expression of “bathos” rather than “pathos.” Consequently, I value

this idea more and more.]81

Neal (1999) also speaks about the line in her research about the American oboe school.

She states that “most important to American oboists is the musical use of dynamics in shaping a

melodic line. Dynamic nuances should always be considered within the context of the direction

and phrasing of the composition.”82

Mostovoy (2016) includes a final postscript at the end of his presentation of “In

Tabuteau’s Own Words” that provides summation about Tabuteau’s teaching: “Tabuteau’s

premise is that only through creative thinking, detailed analysis and diligent practice can you

hope to achieve the highest level of musical performance. All means available must be utilized

in service of the music.”83

Breathing

In the earlier mentioned audio CD transcripts, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons (1996),

Tabuteau states that: “Most important, for the attack, first get rid of the air in your lungs. Before

playing, say, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ahhhh! Don’t inhale – And play with the pressure left at your

81 Woodhams, “A Tribute to My Teacher, John de Lancie,” 82.

82

Neal, “The American School,” 54.

83 Marc Mostovoy, “In Tabuteau’s Own Words,” 178.

36

command against the resistance of the reed. Direct wind on the reed is rather uncontrollable; no

outlet!”84

Robert Bloom studied with Tabuteau at the Curtis Institute of Music and is well-known

as an oboe soloist. Bloom, in an interview with Eugene Cook (1975), shares his own wisdom

about oboe playing which echoes Tabuteau’s teaching. “Playing the oboe doesn’t take lots of

air, it takes great control of the air. For instance, if I were to try to blow a flute, which takes

much more air, I would be dead! The few times I have tried to sing I ran out of air very quickly

because I am used to not taking enough, and using what I take with great pressure!”85

Another quote from Bloom from the same (1975) interview helps to make clear any

possible misunderstandings due to a seeming discrepancy between oboe playing being similar to

singing, yet breathing technique for singing being different than breathing technique for oboe

playing.

We breathe like singers. We get our breath right down to the diaphragm or the

abdominal muscles, and we support that. But, we are like underwater swimmers. We

don’t take a gigantic breath because then the pressure would be too great. .... Like a fine

underwater diver. He doesn’t take a deep breath, he takes a kind of “catch breath” so that

the pressure to get it out is not too great.86

Singing Intervals

Tabuteau (1996) speaks about the concept of singing intervals in his audio CD of lessons:

“How to perform a singing interval; the point is to fill up the gap in between two notes – like a

84 Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 12.

85

Eugene Cook, “Robert Bloom Talks with Cook,” Music Journal 33, no. 8 (October 1975): 6, accessed

May 10, 2016, http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1290761693?pq-

origsite=summon&accountid=12085. 86

Ibid, 8.

37

horse jumping over a hurdle.”87

Bloom, in the Cook (1975) interview similarly states that “You

don’t really sing the notes; you sing what is in between the notes.”88

Woodhams (1998) again articulates this point when he speaks of the teaching of de

Lancie:

In a variant of the dictum of “putting the notes on the wind,” he (de Lancie) said I must

learn to “play between the notes” to achieve a true legato and compelling musical line,

and demonstrated with a slow scale where all the notes were perfectly conjoined and

matching in timbre. He urged that scales be practiced slowly, with an increase in

intensity and volume as one ascends, to counteract the natural inclination of the oboe to

be loud down low and weak in the high notes.89

In this quote, de Lancie and Woodhams highlight the interconnected relationship between

singing intervals and line. Filling the space between notes and intervals enables the continuity of

the musical line.

McGill (2007) continues to explain this point by sharing the same quote from Tabuteau

that references a horse to which McGill adds his own explanations. The earlier Tabuteau quote

is again included for further clarification.

Marcel Tabuteau taught his students a specific way to perform what he called the

“singing interval.” The singing interval is most often used on upbeats or “up” inflections

to downbeats or “down” inflections. He said, “The point is to fill up the gap in between

two notes. Like a horse jumping over a hurdle—down, up-up-up, down. The last down is

the landing.” He called the growth within the up inflection the “inner work.”90

Phrasing/Number System

In the Miriam Jakes (2005) interview, Ralph Gomberg recounts Tabuteau’s teachings.

Tabuteau explained everything in a very colorful manner. He had a number

system by which he explained phrasing. My brother Robert asked him about it, and this

is what he replied, “Robert, I don’t have the time in the space of a lesson to explain the

art and aesthetics of phrasing so I do it by numbers.

87 Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 16.

88

Cook, 8.

89

Woodhams, “A Tribute to My Teacher, John de Lancie,” 82

90 McGill, Sound in Motion, 170.

38

For example a phrase could be thus notated: 1234 3456 4567 for a crescendo and

then going down would be: 7654 6543 4321. Basically it means that you should not

make a simple soft or loud sound but re-energize at some points in a phrase so, as in

speaking, you do not speak in a monotone but continually emphasize certain words.91

McGill (2007) states that: “Marcel Tabuteau’s most important contribution to the world

of music was his development of a universally applicable, systematic approach to musical

phrasing.”92

Ralph Gomberg gives further detail about Tabuteau’s teaching about expression when he

paraphrases Tabuteau and then adds his own explanation in this quote from the Jakes (2005)

Tanglewood interview: “Tabuteau said that the oboe is the most colorful instrument of all the

woodwinds. We have the advantage of expressing music in more ways than dynamics. The

color of the sound should depend on what you are playing.”93

Tone

Mcgill (2007) quotes John Minsker (1992), who details tone color:

John Minsker, the longtime English hornist of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1936-

59) and woodwind teacher at Curtis (1978-85), who was revered for his tone, described

the variable tone one should strive for: “You have to have the dark quality tone to which

you can add color and intensity. If you start from this bright, white, shiny tone that they

talk about the sopranos, for example, today; they say, ‘Well, she has that beautiful tone—

it’s like a diamond.’ Well a diamond’s great but a diamond all the time is too much

sparkle. That sparkle has to have a background of a certain darkness and your basic tone

has to be a dark one—which Tabuteau had and which Kreisler had.

See, you start with a black—which, according to the physicists, is a lack of all

color—and white—which is the presence of all color—and you play with what’s in

between those two…then with that you can give color. You can give intensity and you

have something to play with. If you start with that white, that brilliant sound---so where

do you go from there? Then (you) have to play a pp and nothing sounds. It’s a bright pp.

It’s not a dark pp from which you can expand and expand and add color to.94

91

Jakes, “Ralph Gomberg: Oboist,” 94.

92


93

Jakes, 94.

94 McGill, Sound in Motion, 198.

39

McGill (2008) again quotes Tabuteau on the topic of tone: “Although known for his

tone, Marcel Tabuteau put the entire issue (referencing tone vs. expression controversy) into

perspective. He (Tabuteau) said, ‘By all means, if you have absolutely nothing to say, develop a

beautiful tone. You will always be able to find someone who will enjoy listening to you for

it.’”95

Neal (1999) quotes Tabuteau on tone color: “A fine oboist can produce as many as fifty

different tone colors on one note, just as a singer can vary the colorings of the voice in an infinite

number of ways. Therefore the oboist must think vocally.”96

Oboe Playing Akin to Vocal Singing/Tone

A recurrent characteristic of the American school of oboe playing is the usage of vocal

singing as an example to imitate as much as possible on the oboe. Ralph Gomberg speaks to this

in the Jakes (2005) interview when saying:

People sometimes ask what I (Gomberg) mean by a colorful sound, to which I reply, “Go

listen to someone like Renata Tebaldi – a wonderful singer who has so much color and

expression in her voice. Domingo also has a great variety of color.” I look to create that

diversity in my sound. Many times orchestra musicians don’t realize how critical the

oboe sound is for the orchestra. The oboe sound is right there in your face. It’s not a

sound you can hide. You’re out there naked and you need to produce a sound that is like

a human voice.97

Norman Schwartz (2005), in the article “The Pavarotti of the Oboe Robert Bloom (1908-

1994),” found in The Double Reed, says of Bloom that: “Perhaps the greatest tribute ever paid

his artistry is the enduring work of the many men and women in orchestras all over the world

who followed his example and continue to carry on that unmistakable singing vibrant sound

which began with Tabuteau and which resounds today in the many recordings we have now of

95 McGill, 201.

96


97 Jakes, “Ralph Gomberg: Oboist,” 97.

40

Bloom and his students.”98

Schwartz (2005) goes on to quote Wayne Rapier who said that

Robert Bloom was “one of our greatest singers…who happened to play the oboe.” 99

David McGill (2007) also references singing as an example: “All instrumentalists are

better served by emulating the human voice in song.”100

McGill expands the principle of using

the expressiveness of vocal singing as an example from oboists to all instrumentalists including

brass instruments.

Motion

McGill (2007) speaks to the Tabuteau tradition characteristic of insisting that music

always have forward motion. The teaching of de Lancie, McGill’s teacher at Curtis, is discussed

in the following passage.

My woodwind instructor, John de Lancie, began his first freshman class each year at the

Curtis Institute of Music by asking: “What is music?” This bombshell brought forth

many timid responses such as “tone,” “pitch,” “dynamics,” “phrasing,” “line,” and

“sound.” Once a student hit upon “sound,” de Lancie explained that sound itself is

indeed an essential element. But then shouldn’t street noises or rustling leaves be

considered music? To some, they are “music to the ears,” but they are not structured,

ordered sound as in musical composition. To further steer our thinking, de Lancie used

the analogy of an animal sitting in a faraway field. He asked us, “How could you tell if

this animal is alive?” The obvious response came forth: “If it moves.” With that, Mr. de

Lancie followed with this definition: “Music is sound in motion.” Music must move to

be alive.101

In the following quote, connection to Tabuteau’s teachings are clear when McGill

recounts how: “de Lancie went on to say that a technique Marcel Tabuteau, his teacher, called

‘note grouping’ could help us find the music’s inner motion—its life.”102

98 Norman B. Schwartz, “The Pavarotti of the Oboe: Robert Bloom (1908-1994),” The Double Reed 28,

no. 1 (Spring 2005): 104, accessed May 27, 2017,

http://www.idrs.org/publications/controlled/DR/DR28.1/DRVol.28.1-SS.pdf.

99 Schwartz, “The Pavarotti of the Oboe,” 104.

100


101 Ibid, 28.

102 Ibid.

41

Tabuteau’s Impact Beyond Oboe Playing

Storch (2008) thoroughly explains why out of several fine oboists from France who all

studied with Georges Gillet that:

Tabuteau evolve(d) as the major force in the development of oboe schooling in

America. I (Storch) believe it was the confluence of two main currents—first, his own

performance during the long period when the Philadelphia Orchestra became known for

its sumptuous sound, its recordings, its tours, and creative programming, with superb

players in the solo chairs, all under the leadership of the charismatic Leopold Stokowski;

and second, following his initial decade in the orchestra, the creation of the Curtis

Institute of Music, where he was able to choose students of high caliber from anywhere in

the country, knowing that they would be on full scholarship. This provided Tabuteau

with the ideal ground to develop and expound his ideas of teaching, not only the oboe,

but music in general.103

McGill (2007) comments about the far reaching influence of Tabuteau and his teaching:

There is probably no teacher of any musical instrument who, through the success

of his or her students, ever held such a grip on the musical style of a country as Marcel

Tabuteau did in mid-twentieth-century America. A great many of the young musicians

Tabuteau worked with passed along his concepts to new generations of musicians who

never had direct contact with him. Through this dissemination of his teachings, Tabuteau

ultimately affected playing and musical thinking in America profoundly. He exerted a

greater impact than any other single musician at that crucial time when no national style

existed within the United States.104

Storch (2008), speaking of Tabuteau, continues McGill’s assertion by telling us that:

“Through his conducting of woodwind ensembles, his influence reached the players of all other

wind instruments. In later years he coached string groups and led an orchestra. Many violinists,

violists, cellists, and pianists have said that they received their most valuable musical knowledge

in Tabuteau’s classes at Curtis.”105

The use of phrasing, tone color, and dynamics in order to

convey emotion and expression in music is, in varying degrees, a prized ability by any musician

who plays classical music in America today.

103 Storch, Marcel Tabuteau, 518.

104


105 Storch, Marcel Tabuteau, IX.

42

Additional Influences Upon the Development of the American School of Oboe Playing

Lorée’s Oboes

The vast majority of oboists in America currently prefer one of several Lorée oboe

models. Lorée is a French oboe brand that originated with the oboe maker Guillaume Triebert.

“Charles Triebert’s (Guillaume’s son) reduced-bore Boehm oboe came in 1855 and the system 6

(‘Conservatory’), developed by Frederic (also Guillaume’s son) with Georges Gillet, the

Professor of Oboe at the Paris Conservatoire, in 1875.”106

Francois Lorée (1835-1902), who

worked for Frederic Triebert, continued the Triebert legacy of oboe making along with Gillet.107

As previously mentioned in the Literature Review section of this paper, “in 1906 Lorée’s son,

Adolphe Lucien Lorée, and Gillet modified the system 6 oboe to the 6bis (plateau) oboe that is

used today worldwide, continuing the Triebert tradition.”108

Tabuteau studied with Gillet before

coming to America and brought with him an

Attachment to Lorée’s oboes (that) led to the virtual exclusion of any other model from

the American professional scene, although today one encounters more variety. Some

American players believe that authentic equipment can guarantee the closest

approximation to their master’s sound. Strict Tabuteau disciples even refuse models with

innovations that were not sanctioned by the master, such as the fork F vent or 3rd octave

key. In the 1980’s Lorée provided a special oboe to satisfy this particular fixation. Their

“AK” model purportedly replicates the bore of oboes from around 1940, when Tabuteau

was at the peak of his career. These energies, however, are largely misdirected, as they

overlook Tabuteau’s own disposition for constant experimentation to the extent that he

rarely played one instrument for more than a few months.109

Leopold Stokowski’s and Arturo Toscanini’s Influence upon the American Oboe School

It was during his time playing in the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Leopold

Stokowski that Tabuteau began to change his own playing and begin to develop the sound that

would come to be known as the sound of the American school of oboe playing. Schwartz (2005)

106 Howe, “Nineteenth Century French Oboe Making Revealed,” 79.

107

Ibid. 108

Howe, “Nineteenth Century French Oboe Making Revealed, 80.

109

Burgess and Haynes, The Oboe, 206.

43

acknowledges Stokowski’s role in this development. “With the encouragement of that great

orchestral colorist Leopold Stokowski, Tabuteau was responsible for changing the sound of the

instrument from a bucolic double-reed often associated with shepherds and bag-pipers to one of

the most vibrant and expressive singing instruments of the modern symphony orchestra.”110

Stokowski demanded an abundance of tone color from his musicians. Arturo Toscanini

also demanded expression as mentioned by Schwartz (2005) when recounting how: “Bloom

loved to imitate Toscanini pleading the orchestra: ‘PUT something! DO something bad, but do

SOMEthing.’”111

Schwartz (2005) explains how these conductors had a distinct role in Bloom’s

development of expressive qualities in his playing: “He (Bloom) was fortunate that the very first

leaders for whom he played, Stokowski and Toscanini, encouraged the young artist to be

himself, to be in a word, spontaneous.”112

Schwartz (2005) goes on to say that “the unique

fearless expressiveness unmistakably Bloom delighted some, as it sometimes offended

others.”113

Further evidence of Stokowski’s influence can be found in Neal’s (1999) research when

she quotes Stokowski from a book by Oliver Daniel’s entitled, Stokowski: A Counterpoint of

View (1982).

Stokowski was sensitive to color, observing that “nearly all musicians feel that different

kinds of timbres suggest corresponding kinds of color, and that different degrees of pitch

also give the sensation of various colors.” He associated certain tonalities with specific

colors, and believed that music and painting are closely related. Many of the musicians

in the Philadelphia Orchestra commented on Stokowski’s interest in color and his

association of visual color with tone color. He wanted to exploit fully the endless

varieties and subtleties of tone color in the orchestra. In his conducting he would ask for

tones of various colors; he would ask for instance for a red tone, a white tone, or a blue

tone.114


111

Ibid, 104.

112 Ibid, 103.


114


44

The Oboe Reed’s Impact Upon the Oboist’s Sound

Ralph Gomberg in the Jakes (2005) interview that, “We’re always looking for the perfect

reed! Tabuteau said, “Any fool can play on a good reed: you have to be able to play on a bad

reed!” Then you’re safe because most of your reeds are bad, at least that’s the way we oboists

feel about it.”115

When Tabuteau arrived in America, the predominant styles of oboe reeds were either

French or German. These two styles were on opposite ends of the spectrum which produced two

vastly different sounds. Tabuteau’s decision to begin to modify the French scrape that he

initially used would significantly impact the resulting new hybrid reed that is now standard

within the American style of oboe playing. Burgess and Haynes (2004) explain that:

The principal technical elements that distinguish the Tabuteau school from others relate

to reed and breath. In general, American oboe reeds are scraped longer than those used

by players elsewhere. While French and German reeds taper fairly consistently from the

bark to the tip, American reeds will often have bulges and ‘windows’ to balance response

and tone. This set-up is designed to work with lower breath pressure and lower playing

angles than those common among European players.116

Messich (2012) speaks about oboe reeds:

In my experience this is one of the largest factors that separate the Philadelphia reed from

other American reed styles. Many oboists, who play the American style, scrape a reed to

a certain point, and deciding it is good enough, muscle the remainder of the reed to

achieve a desirable tone. The intention of the Philadelphia reed is to make playing the

oboe effortless.117

Messich (2012) mentions the reed’s role in attaining a quality akin to a vocalist when he

states that “playing on a reed created from the influences of the Philadelphia style will help


116

Burgess and Haynes, The Oboe, 207.

117 Messich, “The Philadelphia Influence,” 38.

45

oboists produce a more vocal tone on the oboe and achieve a new level of expression not

otherwise obtainable.”118

Allan Vogel (1978) recounts the teachings of his teacher Robert Bloom about reeds in his

article that recounts his studies within each of the French, German, and American schools.

Bloom’s credo was “since the reed isn’t perfect, just blow and use your embouchure.”

And he proved his point by his ability to sound beautiful on almost all reeds.

Bloom taught me techniques of reed making which were his refinements of the principles

discovered by Tabuteau, the latter needed to further develop the French method of tone

production in order to blend with the lush Philadelphia strings. It is the strength of this

American style that a richer sound need not be gained at the expense of flexibility. This

is possible because of the rather complicated three inert scrape. In a reed comprised of

tip, heart, and back, the lips can play flexibly at the tip, while the sound gains substance

from the resistance of the heart, and depth from the cane out of the back. To make a

good reed in this style requires subtle balancing and the right integration and definition of

the three parts.119

Bloom brings attention to the importance of a carefully made reed in order to be able to

play all the requirements made upon the oboist, yet he also reminds the oboist that sometimes it

is necessary to play on a less than perfect reed while still sounding good. Ultimately Bloom is

echoing Gomberg’s quote from Tabuteau—the oboist should play on the best reed available to

him or her and endeavor to not obsess too much about the perfect reed if possible.120

The Contemporary American School of Oboe Playing & Other Influences

Robert Bloom, in the Cook (1975) interview, speaks to how it is normal that the current

American oboe school continues to evolve. “Tabuteau taught me (Bloom). I taught other

students and he, of course, had other students who were good and they taught other students. So

now what we are getting are grand-students of Tabuteau. We have each added to this school and

we evolved and ‘standardized’ it.”121

118 Messich, “The Philadelphia Influence,” 56.

119



121

Cook, “Robert Bloom Talks with Cook,” 48.

46

Allan Vogel (1978) describes how Robert Bloom differed in how he approached teaching

phrasing in a different manner than that of Tabuteau.

In this country (USA) many oboists make the mistake of seeking to phrase according to

warmed-over formulas and devices of Tabuteau, but Bloom, no imitator himself, taught

his students to learn to phrase, not by numbers, but by searching into the music itself. He

was wise in encouraging the development of individual artistry in his students, after

seeing to it that the elements of tone production and musicianship were in order.122

Vogel’s quote illustrates his adoption of Bloom’s eschewing of Tabuteau’s system for

learning phrasing, yet seems to continue in the Tabuteau/Curtis tradition of teaching students to

grow in their fundamental abilities and then apply it to future musical situations.

Neal (1999) adds insights from her research about how the American style of oboe

playing is lending itself to styles from other countries.

Of significance in the current synthesis is the tendency for oboists in Europe to use a

longer scrape in making their reeds. This is due to the influence of the American reed

style and tone quality. There is also a tendency among oboists in several European

countries to strive for a slightly darker sound and to lengthen their reeds in an attempt to

accomplish this goal. The exchanges between American and European schools have

influenced playing in both Europe and the United States. In the near future, with more

frequent and immediate global communication, this trend may culminate in a melding of

styles, resulting in a truly international style of oboe playing.123

122 Vogel, “French, German, and American Oboe Playing,” 12.

123


47

Part 2: Interview Research

American Oboists’ Personal Style

An oboist’s personal style is based on many influences. Personal style is not always

easily identifiable. Even if two oboists play similarly they may not describe their styles in the

same way. The American school is full of such a large degree of variability that the personal

style of American oboists can exist anywhere within a wide spectrum. This spectrum spans from

a more European and dynamic sound to an incredibly controlled and precise American sound.

Even within these descriptors there is variability. The European sound could be light and

delicate or conversely deep and rich. The precise and controlled American sound could include

flexibility or depth of sound or both.

Philadelphia

The American school of oboe playing revolves around Marcel Tabuteau and the Curtis

Institute of Music in Philadelphia where Tabuteau taught not only the oboe and woodwind

classes, but also string instrument classes. John Ferrillo, principal oboist of the Boston

Symphony speaks to Tabuteau’s realm of influence:

Tabuteau influenced the pedagogical scene way beyond just the woodwind world. It was

as common to bump into string players that had studied in his classes as wind players. In

Boston and Philadelphia wind sections in particular, thirty years ago, even twenty years

ago-there was really not one person that had not had contact with Tabuteau or one of his

students, and this is true of almost every large orchestra woodwind section in North

America.124

Ferrillo continues by bringing context to Tabuteau’s playing and the beginnings of the

American oboe school at Curtis:

My teacher (John de Lancie) would tell you that there are recordings of a number of

contemporaries of Tabuteau’s that could easily be mistaken for Tabuteau. Tabuteau was

only the most energetic proponent of that school in the world. It is remarkable how it

took root here-the combination of a tuition free school at Curtis, a dynamic proponent,

124 John Ferrillo, interview by author, Skype, April 12, 2017.

48

and a unique, new orchestra sound in Philadelphia provided the perfect water and soil for

it.125

When asked about personal style, American oboists often respond by mentioning the

Philadelphia influence. Henry Ward, principal oboist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

describes his personal style as “Philadelphia trained in style and sound. I am from the

Philadelphia area and studied with members of the orchestra there or people that studied with

former members. I wouldn’t necessarily call my playing super Philadelphia at the same time

though. It more depends on the day and what I sound like that day.”126

Though Ward

recognizes the strong influence his Philadelphia background had upon the formation of his

personal style, he also recognizes that his personal style encompasses enough outside influences

other than just his Philadelphia background to not be described as only Philadelphia all of the

time. This is typical of the American school’s variability especially currently. Barbara LaFitte,

principal oboist of the Seattle Symphony, also references Philadelphia when she describes her

personal style as “American style with influences of Philadelphia phrasing as taught by John de

Lancie and Lou Rosenblatt.”127

LaFitte’s inclusion of both the terms “American style” and

“Philadelphia” indicate some amount of difference between these two. The Philadelphia style is

the origination of the American style. The American style certainly includes the Philadelphia

style but is not limited to it.

Descriptions of Sound

American oboists use an amazingly wide variety of terminology to describe their personal

styles. These descriptions include “eloquent and vocal phrasing, musical direction, line,


126

Henry Ward, interview by author, Skype, April 10, 2017.

127

Barbara LaFitte, interview by author, March 6, 2017.

49

flexibility, and a generally sweet, but varied and colorful sound;”128

“fluid, light and dark at the

same time, controlled but not without freedom, well-phrased and nuanced;”129

“round, layered,

focused, sweet and dark simultaneously, deep, flexible;”130

and “dark yet supple and flexible.”131

American oboists repeatedly refer to a sound that is dark yet simultaneously light and sweet.

How can the American oboe school’s sound be so many things at once? The American oboist’s

sound is comprised of constant changes occurring in tone color, dynamics, and expression that

bring life to the oboist’s playing. This hallmark quality of the American school that Tabuteau

initiated is one reason why the American school of oboe playing took root relatively quickly and

continues to thrive in all its variations.

Style Development

The Reed Scrape’s Role in Style Development

The reeds the American oboist plays during his or her formative years playing the

instrument is an important element in style formation. American oboists who begin playing

using the American scrape reed developed by Tabuteau have an immediate advantage. American

scrape reeds, handmade by well established American oboists, provide the developing student

oboist the best opportunity to play with relative ease within the American style. The student

oboist should not have to struggle and fight with the reed to try to achieve any desired end result.

Mark DuBois, professor at Fredonia State University describes his style development: “I grew

up studying with Robert Sorton (a student of John Mack) and then later studied with John Mack.

Playing on Sorton’s reeds allowed me to develop a style which was able to produce the sound

128 Mary Lynch, interview by author, March 16, 2017.

129

Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg, interview by author, April 11, 2017.

130

Lynch, interview.

131

LaFitte, interview.

50

that those reeds are made to produce. My style developed very naturally and unconsciously.”132

Though beginning oboists do not yet have a concept of style nor the technique to achieve this

style, their development within the American style is best facilitated by playing a reed made for

that purpose. Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg, principal oboist of the Des Moines Symphony

explains the reed’s importance: “With a good reed you are able to execute all the music on the

page as you choose. A good reed allows you to play with the type of sound you prefer.133

Teachers’ Role in Style Development

Today’s oboists, trained in America, usually study with at least three to four oboe

teachers during the course of their foundational training as musicians. Each of these teachers

play significant roles in the development of the personal style of their students. Ward mentions

developing his style “primarily from my teachers and from listening to other musicians I

admire.”134

Bloomberg comments that “my style grew out of study with my teachers, listening

to them play (either live or in recordings) and from listening to other oboists.”135

John Ferrillo

speaks of his training with several different teachers within the American school:

John de Lancie was my teacher at the Curtis Institute and certainly the teacher

who introduced me to the Paris Conservatory/Tabuteau school. After I studied for five

years with John de Lancie, I studied with John Mack. I didn’t find these men’s words to

be in conflict-I found them to be complimentary.

They were very different pedagogues. John de Lancie was an extremely big

picture person and taught about the mechanics but always talked about what you wanted

to be able to do-goals-rather than specific methods. John Mack was, by nature,

fascinated by the details. Between the two of them I received really a very complete

musical education. I’m incredibly grateful to both. John de Lancie was a wonderful

mentor later in his life-during the first half of my career in NY; and John Mack… well…

he would have given you the shirt off his back.136

132 Mark DuBois, interview by author, April 20, 2017.

133


134


135

Bloomberg, interview.

136

John Ferrillo, interview by author, Skype, April 12, 2017.

51

The variability found within the American school comes from the distillations of

Tabuteau’s original innovations and teachings passed down by his students and their students.

Though certain elements differ, they are usually not contradictory. Ferrillo again mentions this

when he comments about his teachers that:

I learned a lot of mechanical solutions studying with Mack-particularly gougers but reed

scraping as well. Not absolutely every aspect of scraping a reed but some very important

ones which explained a lot of things about the principles that John de Lancie had been

teaching. I need to emphasize again-the two men’s teaching was very complimentary,

and I never felt that I turned away from my Curtis training-I simply learned more

efficient ways of doing what I was taught there.137

Tabuteau Lineage of Interview Participants

Participants for this study were invited because of their professional oboe experience

within the American school of oboe playing. There was not any further criterion for

participation within this study. Over fifty invitations to participate were extended to professional

American oboists. The seven interviewees involved with this study are included because they

agreed to and volunteered to participate. Based upon this random grouping of respondents who

participated in this study, it is quite revealing of Tabuteau’s continued influence that each

interviewee can trace his or her American oboe teacher lineage back to Tabuteau.


52

Figure 1. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Henry Ward: Principal Oboe, Buffalo Philharmonic

Orchestra138

Figure 2. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Mary Lynch: Principal Oboe, Seattle Symphony;

University of Washington139

138 Henry Ward, interview by author, Skype, April 10, 2017.

139

Mary Lynch, interview by author, March 16, 2017.

Henry Ward

David Schneider

Al Genovese

Marcel Tabuteau

Stevens Hewitt

Harold Gomberg

Marcel Tabuteau

Jonathan Blumenfeld

John de Lancie

Marcel Tabuteau

Richard Woodhams

John de Lancie

Marcel Tabuteau

Mark McEwen

John de Lancie

Marcel Tabuteau

Eugene Izotov

Ralph Gomberg

Marcel Tabuteau

Mary Lynch

John Ferrillo

John de Lancie

Marcel Tabuteau

Elaine Douvas

John Mack Marcel

Tabuteau

53

Figure 3. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Barbara LaFitte: Principal Oboe, Boston Ballet

Orchestra and Boston Classical Orchestra; Berklee College of Music140

Figure 4. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg: Principal Oboe, Des

Moines Symphony; Drake University141

140 Barbara LaFitte, interview by author, March 6, 2017.

141


Barbara LaFitte

Lou Rosenblatt

John Minsker

Marcel Tabuteau

Marcel Tabuteau

Frank Stalzer

Marcel Tabuteau

Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg

Jay Light John de Lancie Marcel Tabuteau

John de Lancie Marcel Tabuteau

54

Figure 5. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of John Ferrillo: Principal Oboe, Boston Symphony

Orchestra; New England Conservatory142

Figure 6. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Margaret Marco: Principal Oboe, Kansas City

Chamber Orchestra; University of Kansas143

Figure 7. Tabuteau Teaching Heritage of Mark DuBois: Fredonia State University144


143

Margaret Marco, interview by author, April 12, 2017.

144

Mark DuBois, interview by author, April 20, 2017.

John Ferrillo

John de Lancie

Marcel Tabuteau

John Mack Marcel

Tabuteau

Margaret Marco

Ray Still Robert Bloom Marcel

Tabuteau

Nancy Ambrose King

Richard Kilmer

Robert Bloom Marcel

Tabuteau

Mark DuBois

John Mack Marcel

Tabuteau

Robert Sorton

John Mack Marcel

Tabuteau

55

American School of Oboe Playing Characteristics

Line

Keeping the line is a defining characteristic of the American oboe school. This concept

originated with Tabuteau. When reflecting on the most important things that Jennifer

Wohlenhaus Bloomberg learned from her teachers she said that: “The top two are reed making

and phrasing and the creation of a line in the music you are performing.”145

Keeping the line is

the ever present mantra that is foremost in the oboists mind. This principle informs the majority

of decisions the oboist makes in the effort to play expressively and with dynamic contrast and

interest. Ferrillo explains that:

To do musically what Tabuteau, de Lancie, and his peers did, required that a

sound be “built” in a certain way. For instance, this idea of making a line, which seems

completely natural to us, make a line with your wind and put the notes on that line. We

say, “of course that’s what you should do” but if you wanted to have a high doctrine of

that, in nineteenth century France, it meant maybe going to instruments that had a little

more resistance, smaller bore instruments, and a reed that held the pitch itself-that

allowed you to relax and play in an open, permissive way.

Does this mean that people that are advocates of this don’t use their embouchure?

Of course they do. It is, simply, that the doctrine of line was taken to a higher level.146

Ferrillo explains the changes that the French oboist needed to make in order to achieve

keeping the line in a more effective way. These are changes that we find within the American

school, especially the differences in reeds that keep the pitch up instead of requiring the oboist’s

embouchure and breath support to do this.

Phrasing

Phrasing is an important musical element that is closely tied to keeping the line. Ward

illuminates the interconnected nature of phrasing and line continuity:

I was engrained in the Philadelphia style. I studied with Jonathan Blumenfeld,

who studied with John de Lancie and Richard Woodhams. Those teaching styles have

145 Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg, interview by author, April 11, 2017.

146


56

not changed a lot. It’s all about trying to make an arc of a phrase so simple but very

developed. That’s really the key to that style of teaching. Everything else didn’t matter.

As long as you were getting that well, how you did it didn’t matter – and the same

with my (Ward’s) students. I (Ward) talk a lot about: Where is this phrase going, where

do you have to come back, where do you have to save some room to make this phrase

sound better than it does now, and whether they are bending over backwards to do it-it

doesn’t matter as long as they can do it and continue to do it.147

Dynamics

Dynamics are what bring interest and life within the line and phrasing. Tabuteau’s

number system was his way of quickly explaining to students when more or less air and how

much more or less should be used to effectively employ dynamics. Ward explains that,

“Tabuteau talked a lot about the number system. He’s always mentioned when that is being

used. It gives a visual of what a phrase needs to be in terms of intensity of sound and dynamic it

needs to be. That is something that is attributed to him that he taught to a lot of his students.”148

“Both Jay Light and John de Lancie stressed that you must make music happen even

when you may not feel like it, that each time you play, it must be the most beautiful sound to

ever come out of the oboe.”149

Dynamics make this possible. Without changes in volume

happening within the line, the music loses its interest and meaning.

Vocal Similarities

The human singing voice is held in high esteem as an example to emulate within the

American school of oboe playing. Mary Lynch reflects on her training: “I studied with John

Ferrillo at NEC for four years, and reflecting on that time, I’d say the most influential method of

his teaching, for me, was the way he would sing Barret melodies. He has a beautiful voice, so I

learned a lot by just trying to imitate his singing on the oboe.”150

Reflecting on how a singer


148

Ibid.


150

Mary Lynch, interview by author, March 16, 2017.

57

would sing a passage of music quickly brings expression and life to the lyrical passages that the

oboist regularly encounters.

The singing of great singers of all genres provides equal inspiration for the oboist.

Margaret Marco recounts that “I listened to a LOT of recordings. Ray Still always encouraged

us to listen to great opera singers such as Kiri Te Kanawa and Kathleen Battle. He also

recommended Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Listening to those amazing talents gave me a

passion for highlighting the lyrical capabilities of the oboe.”151

It is not necessarily the style that

provides inspiration, although that certainly is found within the singing of classical vocalists, but

it is the way the vocalist will use vibrato to color certain notes and not others to great effect and

how the vocalist employs dynamics effortlessly to convey feeling that provides the oboist with

creative insight when playing lyrical passages. Marco additionally remarks that “the most

important thing I try to pass on to my students is to be open to listening to all sorts of music.

Listening to the jazz greats or amazing vocalists can be very inspirational.”152

Henry Ward, when reflecting on the influence that vocalists have had upon his playing, states

that he is always:

Listening to a lot of singers and also playing for singers-they bring a different style and

idea which can be very helpful. Listening to them live is a big deal. The oboe is such a

vocal instrument much more so than a lot of other instruments. The oboe really does

mimic the human voice in a lot of ways. I do quite often listen to operas and singing

regardless if there is oboe in it or not.153

Paying attention to where a vocalist will naturally breathe also informs breathing choices

for the oboist. In difficult passages the place that feels best to the oboist to take a breath may

completely ruin the effect of the line and/or phrase. In these situations, if the oboist sings the

151 Margaret Marco, interview by author, April 12, 2017.

152

Ibid.

153


58

passage, he or she will likely realize a better spot to breathe without compromising the lyrical

nature of a passage of music.

Flexibility

Because of the wide range of variability within the American oboe school, American

oboists are required to be flexible. Conductors all have different visions and the American oboist

must be able to adapt. Henry Ward explains:

There isn’t “one way” of playing, especially on the oboe. Every player should

have a unique voice, and when they show that voice effectively, while also having good

intonation, rhythm, good sound throughout every note of the instrument, they will go far.

But at the same time, if a conductor asks you to play something differently, you have to

be incredibly open and flexible to change something on a dime.

The music director is the boss and you (any orchestra member) must at least

respond and try to change to meet any requests. Respect the music director and what he

wants. A lot of people (conductors) will ask for things nondescriptly but you still have to

try to do it.

You can’t just be playing one style. It really depends on what they (various

conductors) are asking for.

Mary Lynch further clarifies the need for American oboists to have flexibility in their

playing. “As musicians we have to be flexible, like chameleons. We must be able to do

anything on our instrument, and we must be able to portray whatever role is needed to serve the

music. We must be “fluent,” so to speak.”154

Jennifer Wohlenhaus Bloomberg also mentions

flexibility. “I teach my students the American style of oboe playing and also how to be

flexible.”155

The American Scrape Reed

The development of the American scrape reed was the result of Tabuteau’s innovation.

In response to the demands placed upon him while playing in the Philadelphia orchestra under

Leopold Stokowski, Tabuteau made changes to the French scrape reed to allow for greater

154 Mary Lynch, interview by author, March 16, 2017.

155


59

possibilities to meet Stokowski’s demands. Henry Ward describes what makes the American

scrape reed unique:

Short and thin tips as opposed to a European scrape which has a longer tip and the

reed is generally a little under pitch and the player has to either increase air to bring up

the pitch or use the embouchure to bite up the pitch (some European players do play on a

shorter tip as well possibly influenced by American players), a decent thickness to the

heart, a bunch of cane scraped out of the back (this part might be different between

Americans which is more Philadelphia).

Very much going for a reed that is crowing a C and also very vibrant, with a bit

more body to it, though these words can have different meanings to different people. The

idea of this is that the reed is more “up to pitch” i.e. not needing to be brought up to

around A=440 with either embouchure or air. The reed can therefore be let go. Other

than scrape, cane selection, gouge, and shape are also incredibly important for making a

“good” reed. In general, I probably scrape more than some-which is more of the

Philadelphia style.156

John Ferrillo further explains that “when the reed holds your pitch the center of sound,

you’re freed to do a much simpler thing–a more elegant arch to your phrase. That’s a simple

thing, but not an easy one. It means using a gouge of a specific kind, a reed of a certain kind, a

shape of a certain kind, and an oboe of a certain kind.”157

European oboists of necessity use a different embouchure in order to control European

scrape reeds. American school oboists do not need to exert such a high level of control over the

reed because more cane is taken off the reed in general. The American scrape reed essentially

builds into the reed an embouchure that does some of the work for the oboist. This frees the

oboist to be much more expressive and play with less effort. Ferrillo describes Tabuteau’s and

John Mack’s influence upon reed making:

There is much more uniformity in scraping styles now then there was forty years

ago. Forty years ago you could do just about anything. Tabuteau was a great secret

keeper and it was considered one of the black arts that you were not supposed to reveal.

John Mack went to Curtis just shy of his twenty-first birthday and had a huge

mechanical aptitude especially for gouging machines. Within a short period of time

Tabuteau was training him on how he wanted gouging machines done. Tabuteau would


157


60

go off for the summer to the Côte d’Azur or Marseilles and Mack would labor from

August to September and when Tabuteau would get back there would be two or three

gouging machines and a box of reeds.

He (Mack) became the reed making guru-one of the greatest reed makers that ever

existed including Tabuteau himself. Mack was a different kind of guy-he was the son of

a Presbyterian minister and he taught with missionary zeal.

Mack was the only person to unlock Tabuteau’s secret in this area-Tabuteau

would even turn to the corner when scraping reeds for students-it was the secret of his

success and he wasn’t going to give that up.

There was suddenly a much more logical presentation of reed making. Now this is

something that mainly started happening while I was at school but particularly after that

and so there is a much more systematic approach to it now. It prioritizes first for

response, then for pitch, then for sound quality. Just about all musicians now play with

what you would call a long scrape. The reason that everybody does it now is that nobody

in the United States uses a short scrape-all of our reeds have hearts, tips, backs.”158

There was a time when a step by step process was not available for learning to make

reeds. John Mack brought this reed making knowledge to American school oboists through his

extremely knowledgeable teaching, gained from Tabuteau, and Mack’s own reed making

innovation. Margaret Marco, professor of oboe at the University of Kansas relates that “Dr.

King taught me to play on reeds with a 4 mm tip and 5 mm heart. I also use her micrometer

measurements, which are a 45 mm heart and 35 mm windows.”159

It is difficult to imagine a

time when such specifications were not standard practice to be passed on from teacher to student.

The earlier mentioned Henry Ward quotation references the fact that there are differences

between the Philadelphia scrape and the American scrape. The Philadelphia scrape reed allows

for the greatest amount of playability. The reed is as perfectly finished as possible. A more

general American scrape reed will still have all of the elements mentioned in the earlier

mentioned Ward, Ferrillo, and Marco quotes but may require more effort on the part of the

oboist. This effort is not as great as what would be required from the oboist playing on a

European scrape reed.


159


61

Reeds are extremely individualized within the American school. Nearly all mature

oboists make their own reeds because otherwise they never can find reeds that are good enough.

There has never been an oboist who is happy with his or her reeds all of the time, but making

one’s own reeds allows his or her reed to be perfectly made for the individual oboist. Each

oboist will have different demands of his or her reeds and will have different preferences. For

instance, some oboists prefer more resistance while others prefer hardly any resistance in the

reed though these oboists may be aiming for the same resulting tone quality or sound. Though

the Philadelphia and the American scrapes differ, they are two variations that lead to the same

end. The greatest influence on how the American scrape is completed is the individual oboist. If

a reed being made in a certain way allows the oboist to play and sound how he or she would like,

that is how the oboist’s reed should be made regardless of where that reed falls within the limits

of the American oboe reed scrape.

New Trends within the American School of Oboe Playing

Change is constantly occurring within the American oboe school. Though the principles

from Tabuteau that the American school was founded upon have not changed and the defining

characteristics of the American school generally remain the same, growth and development are

continuing to occur. This change is partially why so many variants of the American school of

oboe playing exist. When today’s professional oboists are asked about modern trends occurring

within the American school, the large amount of variability within the school inevitably brings a

wealth of different responses.

62

Tone

John Ferrillo references tone color: “I’d say in general there’s a trend towards lighter,

more flexible sounds.”160

Margaret Marco describes changes she has noticed within the sound of

the American school which echoes Ferrillo: “The American oboe sound has changed over the

years. When I was in college, everyone strived for a “dark” sound, though “dark” is always

difficult to define. This changed though over the years and now the American sound leans more

toward a lighter, more flexible tone quality.”161

Ferrillo and Marco mention the trend towards a

lighter sound while Bloomberg references a darker sound with a loss of clarity:

I have noticed new trends when we hear extra auditions in the Des Moines Symphony. I

hear a bigger, darker, louder sound. Unfortunately, it often lacks clarity. Bert Lucarelli

and I once had a conversation about this. He compared it to the water of a murky lake,

where you cannot see the bottom. I prefer a sound with more clarity (the lake with water

so clear you can see the fish, plants and surface on the bottom).162

Dynamics

Bloomberg also speaks of her own worry and of John de Lancie’s worry about the trend

of a lessening amount of control of dynamics among American oboists:

I hear a lack of control on the soft dynamic end. In an attempt to make a reed

with a larger sound, some control is sacrificed. This isn’t happening only in the oboe

section-I hear it in other woodwinds, too. (Flute and clarinet especially, bassoon not as

often).

John de Lancie was concerned about this twenty years ago. His concern was that

each orchestra in this country would eventually sound alike. He called it a

“homogenized” sound and compared it to milk! He also thought everyone was playing

too loudly and should obey the dynamic markings in the music. His preference would

have been to have unique orchestral sounds for each geographical region.

I am fortunate to play in an orchestra where we do observe dynamics most of the

time and I can play a true piano dynamic marking when called for in my part. I also

recognize that the type of playing I was trained to do is falling out of favor with many

conductors and other wind players. This reinforces the need to be flexible. The “bel


161



63

canto” type of wind playing is a great background and teaches you the control you need

to get what you want out of the oboe.163

Expression

How much expression or how little expression is used by current American oboists when

playing compared to the amount of expression employed by European oboists is referenced by

Margaret Marco. “European oboists tend to win major competitions such as the IDRS Gillet-Fox

Competition more often than Americans. My theory is that American oboists tend to play more

conservatively than European oboists when it comes to expressive playing.”164

Skill/Technique

The technical skill required of modern American oboists continues to increase. Jennifer

Wohlenhaus Bloomberg comments “I think that students today need to learn many more

technical skills than I have had to learn, just as I had to learn many other skills than Jay Light or

John de Lancie. (I once played a piece where I had to hum and play at the same time. I am fairly

certain that John de Lancie never had to do that).”165

John Ferrillo explains the increase in technical demand placed upon current American

oboists that continues to grow.

It’s an incredibly difficult audition scene at this point. The standards are very high.

Today there’s an added degree of facility needed. You really try to train kids to be able

to execute technically as impeccably as possible-not that it was a cakewalk thirty-five

years ago. I had all of my technical stuff in pretty good order, but, who knows? I might

not have been able to toe the mark in this era.166


164


165 Bloomberg, interview.

166


64

The Virtuosic Principal Oboist

A significant change impacting the musicianship and playing of current American oboists

is the necessity of being able to perform in a soloistic manner inside and outside of the orchestral

setting. John Ferrillo speaks to this trend:

The younger generation is very much a virtuosic generation. I was trained to be

an oboist-in an orchestra. I was never trained in particular as a soloist. For instance in

twenty-three auditions, I may have been asked to play a concerto three times.

This shows the influence of European conductors because it is very much a

European concept. The solo chair player as a virtuoso. Heinz Holliger and his European

peers were the pioneers of this idea that playing in an orchestra was only one part of

one’s career.

Another way of putting it is that an orchestra is an assemblage of soloists. It’s a

very different culture. I grew up believing that one wasn’t going to play a better oboe

concerto than a Brahms 1 or Beethoven Eroica.167

Indeed, today’s standard required orchestral audition repertoire includes a movement of

the Concerto in C major, K. 314 by Mozart almost as frequently as the famous oboe solos from

Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin.

Removal by Time from Tabuteau

The amount of time since Tabuteau taught in the United States continues to lengthen.

This separation by time causes somewhat of a distillation of his teachings and principles. John

Ferrillo speaks to this inevitability:

The other thing that is obvious is how remote Tabuteau and even his students

seem. The conceptual glue that united so many oboists in the country is not quite as

secure as it once was, for better or worse.

I cringed once when I heard that a colleague had referred to me, as a prospective

teacher, as a “legacy” player and teacher. I suppose, however, that is true.168

Change will continue to occur within the American school. Tabuteau’s innovation

originally led to the development of the American school which proves the positive effect change

often has. Foundation and roots provide the substantial base within which variables flourish. If


168

Ibid.

65

these roots and base change so much that the foundation begins to crack, however, the whole unit

is again forever changed.

66

Chapter 5

Conclusions

Summary of Study

This study unquestionably points to Marcel Tabuteau as the foremost contributor to the

development of the American school of oboe playing. Not only did his playing and teachings

make an immeasurable mark upon oboe playing in America, but also his impact stretches to

include all of American classical music through his time spent teaching at the Curtis Institute of

Music. The American school of oboe playing resounds with the primary and recurring theme

traced from Tabuteau and his direct students to the current generation of professional oboists of

infusing music with life through expression and dynamics. Music should always express

something to the listener and it should always go somewhere with forward motion. Music

should never be only beautiful. Music should never be boring. This is the characteristic of the

American school that most clearly is emphasized as a result of this study. This characteristic life

within music encompasses the many technical skills of phrasing, line, breathing, tone quality,

embouchure control, and skill in the making of oboe reeds. How these elements are employed

and to what extent they are used bring continued evolution within the American school.

Summary of Purpose

This study was undertaken with the purpose of better understanding the primary

contributors to the development of the American school of oboe playing, the characteristics that

define the American school of oboe playing, and how the American school of oboe playing is

continuing to grow and evolve currently.

67

Summary of Procedure

This study’s scope included an examination of available archival resources including

books, journal articles, newspaper articles, and audio CD transcripts and cover jacket notes.

These resources were searched for references about and descriptions of contributors to the

development of the American school of oboe playing and for references about and descriptions

of characteristics of the American school of oboe playing sound.

This study included interviews with current or recently retired professional symphony

oboists, and/or current or recently retired American conservatory or university oboe professors in

order to provide perspective about how the American style continues to be defined by the current

generation of American oboists. Seven American, professional oboists were interviewed over

the course of six months. IRB approval for this study was obtained. Informed consent forms

were acquired from each participant. The information gleaned from archival research and from

interviews was organized in order to present the opportunity to trace the contributors and

characteristics from their origination to their current presentation.

Summary of Findings

The archival research and information gleaned from the participants involved in this

study point to the definitive influence of Marcel Tabuteau in the formation of the American

school of oboe playing. For all that can be attributed to Tabuteau, he never attests to an immense

amount of skill or knowledge. Everything Tabuteau learned and developed he used to develop

further and to help propel forward the musicianship of his students. His contributions in the

areas of tone quality and embouchure, dynamics and expression, vocal similarities, breathing and

line, imitation versus emulation, oboe brand preference, responses to conductor’s demands, and

68

oboe reeds are what make up the integral characteristics of the current American school of oboe

playing.

Tone Quality and Embouchure

A desirable tone quality results from developing control over wind pressure. This control

along with the embouchure must allow for a large degree of variability. The embouchure should

not remain constantly in one position. Instead, the position of the lips on the reed should be

changed as needed to allow for a wider range of tone colors.

Dynamics/Expression

Joseph Robinson’s account of Tabuteau’s ability to amaze the listener by encompassing

completely all aspects of “shape, color, and articulation,” point to the high priority Tabuteau

placed upon dynamics.169

When Tabuteau refers to “tone color” he is referring to the expression

or dynamics that the musician imparts to the notes, not merely a beautiful sound.170

Tabuteau’s

playing was always interesting and full of life. He endlessly found ways to express meaning

through the notes of the music. Tabuteau was consistently developing this ability in his students.

Vocal Similarities

Using the vocal quality of the human voice as a reference for the oboist is a common

element of the American school that is referred to often especially in regards to expressiveness.

There are many parallels between vocal and oboe technique. Natural speaking inflections of

lyrics often carry over into a vocalist’s interpretation when singing which enables greater

expression. When oboists use the example of how a vocalist would sing a passage, new

inspiration is found.

169 Robinson, “What I Learned,” 103.

170

Tabuteau, Marcel Tabuteau’s Lessons, 13.

69

Line

Tabuteau, de Lancie, Mack, Woodhams, and Neal all speak to the importance of careful

execution of the line. Mack references Tabuteau’s “first rule of music making: keep your

lines.”171

Dynamics should be rolled up within the context of the line. It is important to play in

between the notes for this makes tracing a line in music more attainable.

Breathing

Oboists do not need to employ large inhalations of air when beginning the air stream

because of the high level of pressure that the air is under while playing. Oboists must

strategically use exhalations almost as frequently as inhalations. Exhalations allow pressure to

be released before a new inhalation begins. Control of the air is more important than the use of

large amounts of air. Eventually a balance is achieved that results in having enough oxygen with

which to play without excessively high air pressure in the lungs.

Imitation versus Emulation

Tabuteau made the distinction between the imitation that is easily done by musicians

eager to learn and emulation. He makes it clear that the difference between the two is that while

imitation is simply copying what another does musically, emulation involves a thorough

understanding of why and what is being done by the fully developed musician.172

Oboe Brand, Conductors, and Reeds

Tabuteau and his students generally preferred the French Lorée oboes which dictate a

certain initial sound. The different models of Lorée oboes allow for different variations to a

certain extent in resulting tone quality. The American scrape reed preference has had a greater

impact upon resulting tone than even the oboe brand or model because of the wide range of

171 Brody, “John Mack,” 103.

172


70

options at the disposal of the reed maker. The American scrape reed, as developed by Tabuteau

in response to the tone color demands of conductors such as Leopold Stokowski and Arturo

Toscanini, is the pivotal foundation that the American sound is built upon. The American scrape

reed, as opposed to the European scrapes, provides a rich, full body sound in addition to a wide

range of flexibility.

The Tabuteau Lineage

Tabuteau’s students and their students have carried on his playing example and teaching

methods to varying degrees. This explains the differences found within the contemporary

American oboe school. Many times these differences do not contradict each other, but are

merely different methods to a similar end result.

Interview Question Summations

Participants described their personal styles of oboe playing based upon either geography-

Philadelphia or Chicago implying a specific style associated with those regions-or described

style specifics or teachers-John de Lancie, Lou Rosenblatt, Ray Still, and Grover Schiltz.

Respondents felt that they developed their personal style mainly through listening. Participants

listened to their teachers, orchestras, vocalists, and other oboists-from all over the world. The

American oboe sound was described by participants with a variety of descriptive characteristics

and traits such as: American scrape reed, use of phrasing and dynamics, dark sound, old Paris

Conservatory sound, line-make a line with your wind and put the notes on that line, more

recently trending towards a lighter sound but always flexible!

All of the teachers of the seven participants are linked in some way to the lineage of

Tabuteau and his students. The most influential aspects of oboe playing gleaned from

participants’ teachers focus on the ability to express musical ideas to the listener. Reed making

71

was also mentioned as influential, as a means to easily be expressive through playing the oboe.

Marcel Tabuteau and/or his lineage of students had the greatest influence upon the playing styles

and general playing characteristics of interview participants. All participants indicated that they

either had heard Tabuteau referred to either in lessons, workshops, or master classes.

Elements mentioned by participants that influenced their development as oboists include:

listening to orchestral performances, listening to and performing with vocalists, listening to and

performing chamber music, studying sixteenth century counterpoint and Turkish music, listening

to music other than just classical music including improvisation, listening to other oboists,

performing in orchestral environments, learning from the conductors of these orchestras, and

playing the piano.

Influential conductors mentioned by participants include: Kurt Masur, Andris Nelsons,

Carlos Kleiber, Bernard Haitink, Ricardo Muti, Franz Welser-Moest, Ludovic Morlot, Seiji

Ozawa, Andre Previn, Gunther Schuller, John Williams, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Charles

Dutoit, James Dixon, Kenneth Jean, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Participants also indicated that

they had learned so much from each conductor they played under even if all names were not

listed as part of this study. Participants describe the oboe reed scrape they were trained in as:

American scrape tending towards a more Philadelphia scrape, long scrape, American scrape, and

American long scrape. All of these descriptions indicate roughly a similar scrape with the

Philadelphia scrape indicating slight differences.

Top priorities mentioned by participants that they have learned and consequently pass

along to their own students include: phrasing and reed making along with careful execution of

the musical line. Being flexible and thereby being able to play in a variety of styles was a

common theme expressed in responses by participants. Oboists should have a clear idea of who

72

he or she is as an oboist and should always be able to meet conductors’ demands within an

orchestral situation. The need for flexibility is again reflected in the answers given by

participants when reflecting upon the appropriate preparation of students for the variety of styles

that may be required by conductors of today’s major American symphony orchestras. The

ability to work with conductors in addition to having plenty of good reeds for different demands

give the oboist tools with which to accommodate a variety of style tastes.

The styles of oboe playing mentioned by participants as being preferred predominantly in

American Symphony Orchestras are the American School, the Tabuteau style, the Curtis style

that has progressed to a lighter and even more flexible style, and an effortless style regardless of

big or light tone. These answers are all pointing to a similar sound and style though each style

mentioned does have variations. This degree of variability within the American school has

become fairly standard and illustrates the changes that take place as this school continues to

grow and develop. When preparing students to play excerpts in performance ensembles or for an

audition, participants favor directing their students towards listening in consideration of a certain

style when interpreting the music being played. Ray Still was suggested as an example of an

oboist to listen to when learning to play orchestral excerpts. Listening to recordings within the

tradition of the orchestra being auditioned for was also recommended by participants as part of

audition preparation.

When considering possible new trends currently developing within the American style of

oboe playing, there were not any common answers discovered. The preference for a darker

sound that sometimes results in a loss of clarity and lack of dynamic control and alternatively the

preference towards a lighter reed with plenty of flexibility were both mentioned in addition to

Alex Klein being mentioned as an example of oboe artistry that is valued within the American

73

oboe school today. These differing opinions are part of the variability within the American

school. The trend of a principal chair player being not only an orchestral musician, but also a

soloist is a European trend that is becoming more standard for today’s American oboists. Also,

more time has gone on since Tabuteau and his direct students were the primary oboe teachers in

America. This is not necessarily a good or bad situation, but it inevitably brings change to the

American school and its continued evolution.

Limitations

This study was limited to available archival resources. Potentially there are sources of

information that are pertinent to this study that were not available as published resources

available to the general public. This study was also limited to the participants who agreed to be

interviewed or answer the interview questions.

Recommendations for Future Study

Potential future studies that would include investigation into the differences between the

American styles of the Philadelphia style, Chicago style, and the Curtis style would add to the

current understanding of these sub-styles within the American school. Examining Tabuteau’s

influence upon the development of current American classical music performance in order to

determine what aspects of Tabuteau’s playing and teaching are evident in how classical music in

America is played today would shed further light upon the roots of classical music in America

and would potentially show further evidence of Tabuteau’s far reaching influence upon

American classical music performance. Application of Tabuteau’s teaching principles to music

education in America has the potential to bring about a resurgence of love for classical music in

the current generation. The investigation of Tabuteau’s and by extension the American school’s

74

impact upon the current European oboe schools would shed perspective upon the French

school’s influence upon Tabuteau coming full circle to now impact its European roots.

Implications for Practice

Tabuteau not only developed a new style of oboe playing, he also was able to train future

generations of oboists to understand how and why he played in this new style. These musicians

understood how to simultaneously play beautifully and with meaning and the technique that was

necessary to accomplish these musical goals. Beyond the world of oboe playing, music

educators in general can find much to emulate in Tabuteau’s teachings. Music education should

give students the understanding and tools to make music that always has life and expression.

This life and expression gives music the meaning that enriches lives in the profound ways that

only music can.

75

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